SIU Carbondale alumnus and veteran journalist Tim Atseff will be part of a panel discussion on news deserts Nov. 5 in SIU’s Sharp Museum. (Photo provided)
October 26, 2026
SIU’s journalism program hosts discussion on efforts to combat ‘news deserts’ Nov. 5
CARBONDALE, Ill. — A panel discussion next month at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will examine the nation’s increasing number of news deserts — areas where there is limited or no local journalism — and the role of journalism schools in filling the void.
The discussion, “News Deserts:J-Schools As a Solution,” features SIU Carbondale alumnus and 46-year veteran journalist Tim Atseff, along with Charlotte Thompson Suhler School of Journalism and Advertising faculty. The free, public discussion and reception is from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5 in SIU’s Sharp Museum Auditorium. Atseff’s exhibition, “Requiem for Newspapers,” which serves as a memorial and eulogy for the decline of print newspapers, is in the museum’s Mitchell Gallery through Dec. 11.
“With the unfortunate increase of news deserts, especially in rural areas, journalism schools will have to help fill that void with local news,” said Jan Thompson, professor and director of SIU’s journalism and advertising school. “The Charlotte Thompson Suhler School of Journalism and Advertising have always had a presence in the community, but we now recognize how vital our role has become and we are leaning into that responsibility.”
In addition to Atseff, panelists include award-winning journalists:
- William Freivogel, professor in journalism, mass communications and media arts.
- Molly Parker-Stephens, assistant professor, journalism.
- Julia Rendelman, assistant professor, journalism.
- Jeff Sutker, assistant lecturer, journalism.
Thompson will serve as moderator.
Local newspapers disappearing
A 2026 “The State of Local News” report from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, shows nearly 40% of local U.S. print newspapers have closed and news deserts continue to grow. In Illinois, 30 small- to medium-sized newspapers closed between July 2025 and August 2026, according to a report on the state’s news deserts.
A 1970 graduate from the university’s School of Art with a major in painting, Atseff had a 46-year career in newspapers in his hometown of Syracuse, New York. He was an editorial cartoonist, a managing editor and a magazine editor. As editorial cartoonist for the Herald-Journal, Atseff’s work of more than 1,500 cartoons with local, national and international themes appeared in several publications, including The New York Times, Washington Post and Boston Globe. He has also designed and edited six tabletop books.
Atseff said the discussion examines what is lost as local newspapers “disappear from the media landscape at the alarming rate of three per week and the sanguine recognition of what they brought to households throughout America.” The panel will also discuss the lessons to be learned “as new delivery systems are developed,” and answer questions such as, without local journalists, who will attend governmental meetings, ask questions and preserve the record?
“The question before the panel and the audience is whether a news desert needs to remain a desert, or will initiatives like those at SIU’s J-School provide new forms of journalism that will be the sprouts that provide the path from remembrance to responsibility, human connection and well-informed communities?” Atseff said.
Journalism schools and their students play an integral role in combatting increasing news deserts, he said.
“All across the country, journalism schools and not-for-profits are trying to answer that question,” Atseff said, noting that Thompson and SIU's Suhler School of Journalism and Advertising’s faculty and students are taking the initiative that is deserving of support across the region.
SIU’s efforts
Thompson points several initiatives underway within the journalism school to help fill some of the local reporting void. In addition to the Daily Egyptian, students can work in the Saluki Local Reporting Lab producing stories throughout the region, and the non-profit Capitol News Illinois. Earlier this month, Southern Illinois Source, in partnership with the journalism school, was launched as part of a $100,000 grant from the Illinois Press Foundation. The initiative will allow students and freelance journalists to cover local news, which will be shared via Capitol News Illinois with local media outlets.
Museum exhibition
For more information on the exhibition, contact T. Lance, the museum’s curator of exhibits, at 618-453-5388 or t.lance@siu.edu or visit museum.siu.edu. Sharp Museum hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1-4 p.m. Saturday. The museum is closed Sunday and Monday, and during all SIU breaks and holidays.
As with all exhibitions, the artwork represents the viewpoints of its creators, not SIU. SIU complies with the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act and State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.