Residents in news deserts—areas with little to no professional local journalism—are increasingly turning to alternative sources for information, such as social media, influencers, friends, and family, according to a recent survey by Northwestern University's Medill Local News Initiative.
Among those who follow local news daily in these areas, 51% rely on non-journalistic (non-professional) sources. Many report feeling they aren't missing out on anything essential.
Local TV stations stand out as the only traditional journalistic outlet ranking in the top five.Trust in local news remains relatively high in these underserved areas, with 46% of residents expressing confidence, though this lags behind the 59% in communities with stronger news coverage.
The bigger concern, experts say, is the loss of professional accountability. “You might feel like you’re part of a close-knit community that knows what’s going on, but places with a lack of journalism are missing an external source of information and a system of accountability for people in power,” said Zach Metzger, director of the Medill State of Local News Project, who led the research.
“The danger is what happens when they rely on social media because they have lost the journalistic view of things they are no longer able to see in their daily lives.”
Engagement with traditional journalism is notably lower in news deserts:
- Only 15% subscribe to or donate to a newspaper, compared to 33% in areas with abundant news.
- Just 9% have spoken with or been interviewed by a journalist in the past five years, versus 22% elsewhere.
- Only 20% have taken action on a community issue inspired by a news story, compared to 34% in well-covered areas.
The U.S. has lost approximately 3,500 newspapers over the past two decades. As of the latest Medill State of Local News Report (2025), there are 212 news desert counties—primarily rural—where residents have limited or no access to reliable local reporting, affecting about 50 million Americans overall when including counties with just one news outlet.
The survey, Medill's first focused specifically on news desert residents, was conducted from July 22 to August 8, 2025, by Qualtrics on behalf of the Medill Local News Initiative. It included 1,000 respondents: half from news desert counties and half from areas with plentiful professional news sources.