News deserts in Brazil still falling

There are more cities with newspapers than cities in news desert in Brazil. The "Atlas da Notícia", a project responsible for mapping the news desert in the country, found yet another reduction in the phenomenon. There are 2,712 cities without media, which corresponds to 49.7% of Brazilian cities.

In the last report (February 2022), with data from 2021, there were 2,968 cities in news deserts, 53.3% of Brazil. However, Brazil still occupies first place in the world ranking of news deserts, ahead of countries such as Argentina, Portugal, Colombia and the United States, for example. There are 26.7 million Brazilians affected.

The data are avaliable in Atlas da Notícia. Below, a brief analysis of the phenomenon in Brazil.

If journalism is in crisis, why are news deserts falling?

The Brazilian news desert has been falling since 2017, when the first report was published. So, is Brazilian journalism doing well? Are we overcoming the crisis? Is Brazilian local journalism ok?

Someone needs to create a new journalistic project so that a city can get off the news desert map. And what are the types of new local media in Brazil? The answer is: online projects and community radio stations. According to Atlas, Brazil registered 575 new native digital newspapers and 239 radio stations between the new report and the last, that is, between a difference of less than two years.

Digital is the most common format in Brazil, with radio in second and print in third. The country has no media regulation, so online projects include large independent newsrooms and blogs, with just one journalist (or content producer). Sometimes these blogs fail to survive, but they are very important in some regions.

When the only newspaper closes, the city is classified as a news desert. Over time, new projects may emerge to suppress this demand. But that doesn't mean the situation has improved. It is impossible to know whether these new projects will survive in the future.

Among the reports, 39 media outlets closed their doors. There are 942 companies closed since the beginning of the mapping. This data raises suspicions about the new projects. Will they survive?

Brazilian map

The most affected regions in Brazil are still the North and Northeast. However, there is a reduction, mainly in the Northeast, with emphasis on the state of Pernambuco. Rio de Janeiro is the state with the fewest cities in news deserts, but it was the state that recorded the biggest increase compared to the last report.

The report's data reinforces the thesis that news deserts emerge where there are few people and little money. Economy is the key. Cities without strong economic activity are unable to keep newspapers open. Before, it was possible for a city hall to maintain an open newspaper. Nowadays, city halls do not need journalism to communicate with citizens.

Conclusions

Local journalism faces many difficulties in Brazil. The emergence of new projects is no guarantee that everything will be fine. Entrepreneurship in Brazilian journalism is a necessity, not a choice. If journalists don't open the media, where will they work?

It will be interesting to research the 39 media outlets closed between reports. Why did they close? Have they ever been sustainable or have they always been in the red?

É preciso falar sobre o financiamento do jornalismo regional. A maioria das soluções digitais criadas neste século não servem para os jornais locais. Há um problema sério de escala. Regulamentar a mídia no Brasil e disciplinar a publicidade estatal pode ser um bom começo…