Robin Kemp was the only journalist watching Clayton County, Georgia’s tabulation of absentee votes as President-elect Joe Biden overtook President Donald Trump during the November election, turning the state blue for the first time in decades.
Votes from Clayton County pushed Biden into the lead and Kemp’s all-night coverage — from the news site she started in April after a local newspaper laid her off — provided insight not only into the pivotal presidential race, but into the importance of local news and the peril the industry faces across the country.
Read the full article by The Washington Post about Kemp’s election efforts and her local news journey. The article cites the seminal news deserts research of Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics Penny Abernathy at UNC Hussman’s Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media.
Learn more about Abernathy’s research at usnewsdeserts.com.