News deserts — information vacuums devoid of news coverage — are often associated with rural regions of our country. We wondered if it was possible there might be a news desert in one of the world’s biggest media markets — the greater New York metropolitan area.

To find out, we surveyed leaders of six predominantly Black and Brown communities surrounding Hofstra University on Long Island, NY.  We were interested in how their neighborhoods were served by the news media, as well as how they envisioned telling their own stories.

We held focus-group meetings with community leaders and area journalists. We also conducted a six-month audit of news coverage within these communities.