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Jun 30, 2020 - Economy & Business

108 counties across the South lack a newspaper

Sara Fischer
Reproduced from UNC Hussman School of Journalism;  Note: States were grouped into regions according to the following classifications: Pacific: AK, CA, HI, OR, WA; Mountain: AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY; Midwest: IL, IN, MI, OH, WI, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD; South: DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV, AL, KY, MS, TN, AR, LA, OK, TX; Mid-Atlantic: NJ, NY, PA; New England: CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT; Chart: Axios Visuals
Reproduced from UNC Hussman School of Journalism;  Note: States were grouped into regions according to the following classifications: Pacific: AK, CA, HI, OR, WA; Mountain: AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY; Midwest: IL, IN, MI, OH, WI, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD; South: DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV, AL, KY, MS, TN, AR, LA, OK, TX; Mid-Atlantic: NJ, NY, PA; New England: CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT; Chart: Axios Visuals

Every state in the South had at least one county without a newspaper, according to new research from Penelope Muse Abernathy at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Why it matters: The South tends to have the poorest states in the country. It's also home to the rise of many new coronavirus cases.

Details: According to the study, roughly 10% of Texas counties and 15% of Georgia counties no longer have a standalone newspaper.

  • "Several other states in the South, with many fewer counties — including Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee — had at least a half-dozen counties without newspapers."

What's next: The fate of two major newspaper chains could have big implications for the future of several newspapers in the South. Ken Doctor writes for Nieman Lab:

  • Tribune Publishing, which owns Orlando Sentinel and South Florida's Sun-Sentinel, on Tuesday "will reach the end of two 'standstill' periods. Tribune’s two major shareholders — Alden Global Capital, with 33% of the company’s shares, and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, with 25% — had promised not to actively buy or sell any shares until June 30."
  • McClatchy, which owns the Miami Herald, The Charlotte Observer, The State in South Carolina, The Sun Herald in Mississippi, and more, on Wednesday will receive final bids for its 30 newspapers, "as the country’s second-largest chain prepares to wind toward some exit from bankruptcy."
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