Comment by WhitneyLand
4 years ago
The source material makes a weak case for the causation (rather than simply correlation) claimed in the title.
Here’s a link to the actual report, for some reason it’s buried 3 or 4 levels deep from the article: https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/research/state-...
Notice the headline (clickbait?) topic is not the primary theme of the report. The report is primarily about the state of the newspaper business. In the key findings, “news deserts” causing a divide is only mentioned in one of the last points.
I’m not trying to disagree necessarily, but they need to provide better support for the tie-in.
Agreed, this article provides clear evidence that the industry is declining but no evidence of it being linked to a growing divide. I’m sad, but not surprised, to see so few comments engaging with the contents of the article itself.