When Lawmakers Wander into News Deserts

The digital-, mobile-, and platform-dominated media environment has contributed to growing news deserts. Scholars have associated the presence of these journalism-starved spaces as a threat to democracy. Australia and Canada passed laws to support local journalism. U.S. lawmakers in twelve states have made similar efforts. This paper analyzes all the legislation U.S. lawmakers have proposed to support local journalism. We conclude by proposing three ways these proposed laws can be more effective in supporting journalism.