Signal interruption in Baldwin City: Filling a communication vacuum in a small town “news desert”

Abstract

This research sought to understand how the loss of a local newspaper impacts the community. Focus groups were conducted among a purposive sample of community leaders. The overall consensus was that residents miss having a single community information platform. Business owners lack an effective way to advertise. Respondents’ perception of the emerging communication platforms trying to fill the information void depends on the consumers’ technical proficiency and prior use of such platforms.

Online Alternative Media and Their Effort to Overcome News Desert in Indonesia

“…Istilah gurun berita kemudian hadir dan merujuk pada sebuah komunitas di mana penduduknya secara signifikan mengalami penurunan akses berita dan informasi lokal penting yang mendukung demokrasi pada akar rumput (Abernathy, 2018). Sementara menurut Smethers et al (2021), gurun berita mengacu pada penurunan dukungan penonton dan pengiklan dari media warisan yang telah menyebabkan penurunan liputan berita lokal yang terjadi baik melalui penutupan atau PHK.…”