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Illustration by Megan Knapp
4/4/2019
In many ways, plants and news deserts share similar structures. Just like plants, news deserts have roots, stems and leaves. News deserts have multiple root causes that contribute to the problem, stems that grow from those problems, and leaves that only reveal the surface issue.
Within southeast Ohio, journalists and lawmakers are trying to eradicate “news deserts,” but despite their efforts, the roots of the problem run deep and more work must be done.
News deserts are areas that contain few or no reliable news sources. Some areas that are considered news deserts have internet access, which residents are able to read national news, but lack a local news source. Others living in news deserts don’t have internet access available at home or a local news source, essentially lacking access to news altogether. Ironically, news deserts are becoming more prevalent as technology continues to develop.
In southeast Ohio, news deserts are not uncommon. Matt Morris, an Ohio University alumnus and a liaison for OU’s Media Seeds Project, a group dedicated to combating news deserts, said each county has at least one daily newspaper.
Marietta, located in Washington County, has one newspaper. Athens County has three outlets that publish print editions weekly. Morgan County has one newspaper, as so does Perry County. Cambridge, located in Guernsey County, has a media conglomerate of a news website and local radio stations.
Morris said residents who don’t access local sources of news choose not to either because they prefer not to consume news, or they self-select to follow conservative news sources such as Fox News.
“People are just happy not having the media,” Morris said.“Then you have the others, the majority of people, who are very conservative and they only trust Fox News.”
The declining demand for local news is a contributing factor to news deserts in southeast Ohio.
Riley Scott | ILLUSTRATION
“(People) are fixated on national news,” Morris said.
For some in southeast Ohio, local news and events are not as interesting as national news.
“They’re not really interested in local news,” Morris said. “There’s just a lack of interest in local events.”
Interest isn’t the only factor that plays into the development of news deserts. Morris said individuals who are forced to focus primarily on making a living are not as concerned with receiving local news.
“There are people who are concentrating on their own lives, trying to make ends meet,” Morris said. “They really don’t want to hear what’s going on in the news. They’ve got their hands full with their own lives.”
The bigger issue, however, is a lack of connectivity in southeast Ohio. Because of the natural terrain of southeast Ohio, home internet access for residents can be limited or nonexistent. Broadband, as defined by an Ohio State University article, is an internet service with a download speed of at least four megabits per second. In the same study article, the researchers found that “more than 1 million Ohioans still lack the access to fast, reliable broadband services in their homes.”
Journalists are continuously attempting to fight news deserts by publishing content online. However, it’s challenging to deliver news to readers who can’t receive news online.
“It’s easy to make online news. It’s easy to make that be the way you address news deserts,” said Carrie Gloeckner, owner and editor-in-chief of the Meigs Independent Press. “But we also have to have that connectivity. And that’s still an issue for a lot of people.”
Most residents in north and central Meigs County don’t have internet access at home. Those same residents can only check the news online if they’re at work or in another area with broadband access.
“Cell service in itself is an issue,” Gloeckner said.
To attempt to address the issue of broadband access in Ohio, state representatives Jack Cera and and Ryan Smith proposed House Bill 378 in 2017. The bill would establish a grant program for broadband development, with all governmental entities smaller than a state qualifying for funding. That includes municipal corporations, townships, counties, school districts and other corporate and political entities.
The proposed bill was approved by the State House of Representatives, but did not make it through the Senate.
In his testimony on behalf of House Bill 378 presented to the Ohio House Finance Committee on Nov. 28, 2017, Ohio’s 96th district representative Jack Cera said some areas of the state still do not have broadband service at all, and other counties have only 40 to 60 percent connectivity to broadband.
“Ensuring high-speed broadband capability will help our region and the entire state remain competitive nationally and continue to be a desirable place to live, work and visit,” Cera stated in a news release following the passing of the bill by the House.
For journalists such as Gloeckner, broadband access is important for people who live in one of the many news deserts in southeast Ohio.
“It’s a difficult thing, but it has to be addressed from multiple layers, because you’ve got to have the local backing from your community, but you also have to have the infrastructure,” Gloeckner said.
Callie Lyons is the writer, publisher and editor for the River City News Network. The small outlet is dedicated to telling “the untold stories” of the Mid-Ohio Valley and is based in Belpre.
Lyons said often in rural areas there isn’t any competition from other outlets. She even believes that people do want local news, but they have no way of regularly receiving it, and they often times do not appreciate the way in which it’s presented.
However, with organizations such as the River City News Network and the Meigs Independent Press, there is hope that southeast Ohio residents can receive local news and information in some form when they do have access to WiFi outside of their home.
“There are some very small news entities that are trying very hard and so we need to throw our support behind those,” Lyons said.
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