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Naming a news desert or oasis doesn’t tell the whole story
Researchers are developing more nuanced tools to help newsrooms understand their audiences
Hannah Artman is a researcher studying audience perspectives of local news in Missouri.
Over the past decade, news deserts, or counties that have no original, local news publication, have become an important topic of discussion as newspaper subscriptions, newsroom employment, and trust in news outlets have experienced a steady decline nationally. The consequences of these trends are felt most strongly at the local level, despite audiences having a positive view towards local outlets, and believe them to be the most trusted news source.
On the other hand, news “oases” tend to follow population centers, with urban areas having more resources and potential audiences than rural ones. For example, here in Missouri, Boone County performs better than 93% of all other U.S. counties when it comes to news and information indices, including total news outlets, houses with broadband, and public good Facebook pages. This should also come as no surprise as Columbia is well known for being home to the world’s first journalism school at the University of Missouri.
But with a population nearly six times larger than Mizzou’s student body and an area that encompasses communities from Centralia to Ashland, is it fair to assess Boone County’s “news health” based on the news production in an urban center that is so widely known for its competitive journalism education? This is the kind of question that’s not addressed or can be overlooked when assessments are being compiled about a news desert or oasis.
Recently, a team of journalism researchers piloted a research method to address this question and more. The project consists of statewide surveys and in-depth interviews within the Columbia-Jefferson City Designated Market Area. The purpose is to create a replicable research protocol that provides local newsrooms — not just in Columbia or Missouri — with tools to better understand their audience needs.
In Boone County, the results are in line with the general national trends related to good news health. Over half follow their local news “quite a bit” or “a lot,” 64% report feelings that local journalists are in touch with their community, and only 13% report having little or no trust in their local news. 55% of Boone respondents also describe their local outlets positively, which is comparable to 52% statewide, yet significantly higher than other counties in the same Designated Market Area, such as bordering Audrain County with only a 33% positivity score.
While one might expect these positive trends to hold across all measures, Boone presents a more complicated picture. Despite the county’s high news health indices, such as the availability of print (a rare commodity in today’s local news environment), when it comes to staying up to date on local news and information, only 14% respondents from Boone County reach for their daily newspaper, compared to 23% statewide.
With a population nearly six times larger than Mizzou’s student body and an area that encompasses communities from Centralia to Ashland, is it fair to assess Boone County’s “news health” based on the news production in an urban center that is so widely known for its competitive journalism education? This is the kind of question that’s not addressed or overlooked when assessments are being compiled about a news desert or oasis.
Only 23% of Boone County respondents subscribe to local news outlets in some form, compared to 28% statewide. When asked for reasons why, respondents were more likely to indicate that “I can find plenty of free local news so I don’t need to pay” (49% statewide; 45% Boone), however the second ranked option is simply, “I’m not interested enough in local news to pay for it” (18% statewide; 24% Boone). Statewide, 15% of respondents have made financial contributions to a local news organization in the last year compared to just 6% in Boone.
Could the constant exposure to a strong, relatively saturated local news environment lead to information overload, or even apathy? In interviews, Columbia’s strong journalism presence carries a heavy weight within the community, as one participant noted, “it’s hard to get away from the University of Missouri gorilla, you know?” They also described student-produced content as “fresh” but also “amateur.” However, when prompted to discuss the role local news plays in their community, most respondents describe the outlets as a vague, persistent presence that (in)voluntarily becomes part of their daily media consumption.
Local news content is not something audiences actively seek out, but they quickly admit to missing it if it were gone. They describe it as “casual,” “periodic,” and “a resource that I know I have.” So why doesn’t a prestigious, bountiful media market translate into even more active news consumption, engagement, or financial support?
What the participants describe illustrates a concept known as news-finds-me perception, or the belief that someone can stay informed without actively following the news, because important news will make its way to them. What we don’t know, however, is the extent to which individuals believe local news will find them. What topics do local community members seek out? Which ones could they do without? Where does salacious crime coverage rank in the needs and interests of audiences?
“I know it’s important. But I’d rather have my head in the sand, because there’s just too much. I want to know sometimes. I’m just mental sometimes, and I can’t know.”
Interviews also indicate anticipated anxiety, or the negative, emotional drivers of what news “feels like” towards local news coverage. However, this concept is more commonly studied among people who avoid the news altogether and is only explored at national levels. For example, crime and public safety rank as one of the highest priorities for audiences, both in the present research and in other national studies, however, there is still a notable distaste for negative news coverage. Interviewees discuss wanting more in-depth or even solutions-oriented coverage when discussing anxiety or fear inducing topics.
Researchers hope to find out more through interviews with audiences from news deserts and the overlooked communities in non-news deserts. For example, Audrain County, mentioned above, is not technically a news desert, but only scores better than 53% of the other counties in the U.S. (compared to Boone’s 93%). What accounts for a 40 point swing between two counties that share a border? Surely the individuals who live and commute across county borders would give us better insight into how these information deficits play out in socially contiguous, yet geopolitically distinct communities.
Audience centered research furthers our understanding of the cultures of news consumption down to a local level. Social indicators such as income, education, and political affiliation have long explained general attitudes towards the news, but “communities” must be defined and informed from the bottom-up. Researchers and journalists should ground audience perspectives of their community and the news available to them in order to better serve the context and culture specific information needs of local audiences across the country.
Cite this article
Artman, Hannah (2025, Sept. 9). Naming a news desert or oasis doesn’t tell the whole story. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/naming-a-news-desert-or-oasis-doesnt-tell-the-whole-story/
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