News deserts persist — are we solving the wrong problem?

Over the past six months, my nonprofit has found that job openings for early-career public media journalists and workers have been frighteningly low, sometimes in the single digits per month nationwide. That’s not because newsrooms hate developing new talent, but rather because the act requires time and money, which public media stations are desperately short of.”

Alex Curley, founder of Semipublic and the creator of AdoptAStation.org

One of the things that I love about public media, and nonprofit journalism overall, is its natural affinity for finding solutions. When Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina in 2024, dozens of editors, reporters and producers across the country volunteered in shifts to help the local public radio station, Blue Ridge Public Radio, meet the sudden need for 24/7 disaster coverage. Similarly, when public media lost its federal funding last year, industry leaders and funders pulled together to create the Public Media Bridge Fund to provide emergency funding and services to at-risk stations.

It’s no surprise, then, that the growing problem of news deserts in the U.S. — 212 counties and boroughs in 2025 according to the Local News Initiative at Northwestern University — has inspired a multitude of creative solutions.

Take, for example, Report for America. The service program matches young journalists with small newsrooms across the country and pays around half of each journalist’s salary. By all accounts, it’s been a success: According to RFA, more than 100,000 stories from hundreds of small communities have been filed by their journalists since 2018.

Shortly after Report for America got off the ground, NPR announced the creation of the “Collaborative Journalism Network.” Newsrooms in large states like Texas or a cohesive region like the Gulf Coast banded together to form “news hubs,” pooling resources to produce more specialized journalism about their state or region. The impact was almost immediate: Stations in Texas now have access to newscasts produced by the news hub as well as a daily newsmagazine.

There are dozens of these types of solutions being deployed at newsrooms across the country, and most of them have the same logic: News deserts mean a lack of journalists, so let’s send in some more.

Through my work with Semipublic and AdoptAStation.org, I’m lucky to talk to all kinds of public media stations, and it’s clear that, while throwing more journalists at small newsrooms and regional news hubs has a positive impact, the beneficiaries may not always be the communities themselves. Yes, sending in trained journalists helps expand that newsroom’s output, but what happens if they don’t fully understand the local culture, especially in places like rural Alaska and Native American reservations? Regional news hubs are vital for helping a national audience understand local issues, but are local communities being served when journalists have to tailor their reporting for a nationwide audience?

Recently, I was chatting with Kristin Hall, the general manager of KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, about this topic. Public media stations in Alaska were far and away the most affected by last summer’s federal funding cuts, losing an average of more than 30% of their annual revenue, and have also received substantial aid. Part of the issue with sending in outside journalists, she told me, is the framing of the problem itself: Yes, there is a staffing shortage, but the solution should come from within local communities, not from outside.

“I think a lot of times, stations aren’t willing to look at candidates that don't have a journalism degree or come from a journalism background,” Kristin explained. “They're not willing to consider local candidates who may know more about their communities, or the historical and cultural infrastructure of the place.”

She went on to bring up an important point: It’s often easier to teach a community member journalism ethics and best practices than it is to teach a journalist the cultural nuances that matter for local reporting.

So, how do we apply this to public media? If our existing placement programs and regional news hubs are solving 80% of the problem, how do we increase that to 100%?

One place to start is by taking chances on local, early-career journalists. Over the past six months, my nonprofit has found that job openings for early-career public media journalists and workers have been frighteningly low, sometimes in the single digits per month nationwide. That’s not because newsrooms hate developing new talent, but rather because the act requires time and money, which public media stations are desperately short of. Report for America got it right by subsidizing its journalists’ salaries. What if more local newsrooms were allowed to do the same with local talent?

Or perhaps public media could take advantage of the infrastructure it’s already built with regional news hubs and programs like Report for America and turn the focus more towards local talent development. Young, local journalists could embed with a more experienced colleague to learn the mechanics of reporting, have access to a senior editor to learn ethics and best practices, and finally return to their local community after gaining sufficient experience.

The reality is that both solutions will require more resources and patience. Donors and funders often want to see an immediate impact, and talent pools can take years to develop. But if there was ever a time to reconsider and change how public media operates, it’s right now. Solutions that only serve most of our communities aren’t good enough; they need to serve all communities and do it sustainably. Really, our survival depends on it.

Alex Curley is the founder of Semipublic, a research nonprofit dedicated to building public trust in media through data, and the creator of AdoptAStation.org. Previously, he spent a decade at NPR, where he worked on product development, satellite-based audio distribution and editorial promotional strategy. He can be reached at alex@semipublic.org.