There was a time when nearly every city council member expected someone from the local newspaper to be sitting in the front row. Today, in hundreds of counties across America, no one is there. They are known as “news deserts.”The declining number of professional and objective media outlets covering local news is disturbing and dangerous. It is estimated that over 250 counties and 50 million Americans live in “news deserts.” Another 1,500 or more counties have only one local news print or broadcast outlet. Weekly, at least two newspapers are closing due to a multitude of challenges, including competition from the world’s “new media”: the internet. Since 2005, more than 3,500 local newspapers have closed.
America’s founders expected a free press to serve as an unofficial fourth estate — not with governmental authority, but armed with the ability to expose wrongdoing and inform voters. The press serves as a watchdog, exposing corruption, questioning government overreach, and informing the public. Due to limited access to media outlets, councils often pass motions that the public is unaware of. For instance, in June of 2024, in Perry Village, Ohio, a multimillion-dollar data center project was advanced without public records or impact studies, raising transparency concerns among the public. Questions remain about the project’s transparency and the availability of public records.
