Preventing News Deserts in Rural America

In a PBS News Hour interview dated August 15, Teri Finneman, an author and journalism professor at the University of Kansas, talked about the critical role that local newspapers play in a small town.

“When the United States was settled, a newspaper was one of the first businesses that was established. It made you a real town to have a newspaper. It is a central place in the community, especially in a time when the nation is so divisive,” Finneman stated.

She goes on to say, “A newspaper is really that central place to get information about your community that nobody else is covering, to learn...