is a series that uses audio, illustration, and written journalism to identify how communities — especially the small, remote ones — get their local news today.
As local newspapers continue to halt operations, fewer people have access to information about their direct surroundings. These areas are called news deserts. Reported consequences of living in an environment without a healthy local news environment include polarization and democratic backslide.
But some news desert residents deny they’re even in one, because they have other ways of staying up-to-date. Today, all manners of news can come from TikTok feeds, Facebook groups, and WhatsApp chats, and anyone can call themselves a journalist. When there isn’t a professional left to give you the news, who do you trust?
Why?
This project, housed by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, currently includes fieldwork in rural South Dakota, Maine, and Florida. If you think we should visit your area, write to youcantrustmeproject@gmail.com.
In the News
Workshops
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I host workshops in areas near news desert counties to learn more about the local news environment, and how involved community members feel in it. The goals of these are to understand where near-news desert residents situate themselves in the news cycle, and for them to learn how local news is being studied today. See below for examples of participant notes. Interested in learning more? Email me at edas.uzunlar@gmail.com.
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Gayle Van Genderen and JP Studeny of the South Dakota Mail. Plankinton, South Dakota.
Jackson Dircks of South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Nathan Hofer and daughter Gemma of South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Bill Watson. Grafton, Vermont.
Pepin Mittelhauser of WERU Community Radio. East Orland, Maine.
John Boit of The Rising Tide. Penobscot, Maine.
Kathy Bonk and Marc Tucker. Maine.
Beth Damon of the "What's Happening Washington County" Facebook page. Lubec, Maine.
Susan Davis of "The Whazup News" Facebook page. Not pictured: Claudia Diller. Kingfield, Maine.
