Local Media, Rural Depopulation, and Territorial Attachment: Geographies of Hope in Castilla-La Mancha

This article explores the relationship between local media ecosystems and territorial hope in depopulated rural areas of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). Drawing on geographies of hope as a travelling concept, we examine how local media shape affective orientations toward the future. Within the framework of rural mediatization, we conceptualize media ensembles as key drivers in the symbolic construction of place and as potential enablers of hope in territories historically marked by demographic decline. Approaching news deserts from the perspective of communicative resilience, we combine a media mapping of 721 depopulated municipalities with a face-to-face survey of 529 residents to analyze the role of local media in sustaining collective affective configurations. We construct an index of territorial hope based on three interrelated indicators: personal optimism, sense of belonging, and outward projection of the locality. Statistical analyses show that municipalities with more local media score significantly higher on this index, and a regression model confirms that media-related variables—especially interest in local news and trust in professional media—are stronger predictors of territorial hope than most sociodemographic factors. Our findings suggest that local media contribute to the emergence of territorial hope. This underscores the importance of integrating communication indicators into the study of geographies of hope and highlights their relevance to strengthen the symbolic agency of rural communities.