Illinois' Growing News Deserts and Why We Should Care

We lose a central tenet of our representative democracy when we lose the free press. We are losing the free press today in many ways. Press freedoms suffered under former administrations for lack of transparency and access. The current administration directly threatens individual members of the press and undermines the legitimacy of traditional news media. Censorship is a growing threat. But maybe the most sinister threat to the importance of the press is the fall of local newspapers and other local outlets. 

This program will examine the state of local journalism in Illinois. It will touch on the challenges caused by dwindling news coverage and highlight recent successes and important news coverage specific to the region where the presentation will be given.