New Jersey’s News Desert Crisis

New Jersey’s news desert crisis is hitting hard—only five journalists per 100,000 residents, dead last nationwide, leaving 40% of communities without any local coverage. To fix it, the state launched a bold civic information program since 2021, pouring $12 million into journalism jobs, internships, and citizen reporters, creating 220 new roles and funding 13,000 stories in underserved areas. But now, the governor’s budget cuts this vital program, leaving lawmakers until the end of the month to decide whether to fund it with $2.5 million. With federal public broadcasting support also shrinking, New Jersey’s most vulnerable communities risk going dark—unless the legislature acts to keep the only national model of this kind alive. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/79393bd67c4a1be1