One week later, I'm back with an update for my map of "News Deserts in Massachusetts", based on data collected by @dankennedy_nu. The new map takes into account non-Gannett/Alden owned chain orgs., and displays regional orgs. in a transparent overlay. #mapoli 
Several independent and chain orgs. cover multiple municipalities, instead of counties or regions like the Merrimack Valley. Impressive to me is the coverage on the North Shore and in Western MA, as well as the news deserts in Central MA and inside 495. #mapoli
Inspired by some old articles in CommonWealth, I thought I'd explore some of the connections between independent news organizations and other areas of civil society. commonwealthmagazine.org/arts-and-cultu…
Probably not shocking, but municipalities without any local news organizations saw a smaller swing, relative to the state, between 2008-2020. Correlation ≠ Causation, but it's interesting to note. #mapoli
Finally, I decided to see the comparison to COVID-19 vaccination rates, where there's an even stronger correlation between the amount of local news orgs. and the vaccination rate. While the data isn't perfect, it shows an incredible gap between communities. #mapoli
You can read more about @dankennedy_nu's list of chain papers in the state here: dankennedy.net/2022/04/05/not….
And while it looks like town-by-town party registration hasn't been updated since 2008, I'll try to find a measure for civic participation. commonwealthmagazine.org/uncategorized/…
And while it looks like town-by-town party registration hasn't been updated since 2008, I'll try to find a measure for civic participation. commonwealthmagazine.org/uncategorized/…
CC: @MSzafranski413, I feel like this map is coterminous with two things you're often tweeting about.
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