That sounds more like a normal population density representation. Everyone hears about CA or NY news because they have more significant national and global impacts, through number of affected people and volume of business. News about the state of Arkansas is less visible since it has less population than any of the major cities in the aforementioned states.

Despite that, I've seen plenty of coverage specifically because, compared to the 2017 American total solar eclipse, this one is more accessible to a vastly greater population: namely DFW TX and NYC. NYC has a longer drive, but the northeast is an incredibly dense portion of the country.