S8 E2: When the News Dies

Many people know that the journalism industry is struggling financially, especially at the local level. But the disastrous depths of that crisis, and its impact on communities and American democracy, are not as well understood. We visit a news desert in southeastern North Carolina. By John Biewen with co-host Chenjerai Kumanyika. Interviews: Penny Muse Abernathy, Mark DeLap, Angelica Das, and others. Story editor: Diane Hodson. Assistant Producer, Arlene Arevalo. Fact-checking by Anna Pujol Mazzini. Music by Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band, Michelle Osis, Lili Haydn, Alex Weston, James Nathan Jones, Goodnight Lucas, and Jason Hill. Music consulting by Joe Augustine of Narrative Music. The Local Journalism Index map discussed in the episode, from Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

You can listen to S8 E2: When the News Dies online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

S8 E2: When the News Dies is an episode from Scene on Radio by Scene on Radio.

This episode is 48:21 long.

This episode was published on May 27, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Scene on Radio when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.