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Mar 1, 2024

Special: Democracy in the Desert

They say all politics is local. So where’s the local news coverage this election year? Welcome to a Marketplace Morning Report special we’re calling “Democracy in the Desert. We’ve been traveling to what are called “news deserts” in Super Tuesday states to hear about the business models that are failing or informing voters as they make their choices. We visit a border town in Texas, North Carolina and a Virginia county that’s just about an hour south of Washington, D.C., for more.

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Special: Democracy in the Desert — Alex Schroeder/Marketplace

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Segments From This Episode

How voters in a Texas news desert get their information
by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder
David Brancaccio/Marketplace
Researchers have labeled 204 counties in America as “news deserts” — places that lack access to credible, reliable news sources. That includes Val Verde County, Texas.
When the local paper folds, who’s left to cover the news?
by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder
David Brancaccio/Marketplace
Checking in with the remaining reporters in Val Verde County, Texas, three years after its last daily newspaper folded.
How a lack of local news coverage may have played a role in a 2018 election scandal
by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
And experts are finding links between voter apathy and a lack of reputable local news outlets.
How one Virginia county an hour from D.C. became a news desert
by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder
Alex Schroeder/Marketplace
In King George County, Virginia, the closure of local newspapers and struggles of area outlets to cover the community have left residents with few sources of reliable news.
The life and death of one local newspaper in Virginia
by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder
Alex Schroeder/Marketplace
Keith Stickley had to pull the plug on the local newspaper he founded when he just couldn’t make the economics work any longer.