Opinion: How weakened local journalism created space for the culture wars
1 year, 9 months ago

Opinion: How weakened local journalism created space for the culture wars

LA Times  

By some estimates, one-third of the newspapers that existed in the U.S. in 2005 will be gone by 2025. Local journalism was hit especially hard, not only because ads migrated to free online classified boards, but also because local papers lacked the resources to build an attractive web presence that could support a successful subscription model. Social scientists who study the issue have demonstrated clearly that less local journalism results in higher levels of corruption, undermines political competition and reduces citizen engagement. George Santos’ serial lying was known around Long Island and covered by a local newspaper, but it did not become a national news story until weeks after he was elected to Congress. Making matters worse, the vacuum created by the absence of local news is often filled by national culture wars.

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History of this topic

Digital Surge Offers a Spark for Local News in Metro Areas
5 months ago

Digital Surge Offers a Spark for Local News in Metro Areas

Associated Press  

Despite a challenging economic climate, local news is experiencing a resurgence in digital platforms. A surge of 81 new digital news sites in 2023, particularly in metropolitan areas, signifies a potential rebound from the decline of traditional newspapers. However, the overall news landscape remains bleak, with 279 counties identified as at risk of losing local news altogether.

The power of local reporting
1 year, 9 months ago

The power of local reporting

NPR  

The power of local reporting An NPR story overlooks an important local source Enlarge this image Carlos Carmonamedina for NPR Public Editor Carlos Carmonamedina for NPR Public Editor One of NPR's strengths is the broad network of member stations that are reporting stories from across the country. The Oregon Geographic Names Board approved the new name in December, and the …

Regional community newspapers grow, bucking industry trends of closures and job loss
2 years, 1 month ago

Regional community newspapers grow, bucking industry trends of closures and job loss

ABC  

Rumours of the death of regional news have been greatly exaggerated, according to Lucie Peart. "Where print editions disappeared, towns have reached out to us as local publishers and said: We want you to come to our town," Ms Peart said. Regional newspaper recommendations Photo shows A country man in his 70s bends to buy a newspaper from local newsagency …

Local papers need new support to survive, say MPs
2 years, 2 months ago

Local papers need new support to survive, say MPs

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The disappearance of local news providers, which have always acted as the eyes and …

Greed, ignorance and local news: Journalists fight back against corporate ownership
3 years, 10 months ago

Greed, ignorance and local news: Journalists fight back against corporate ownership

Salon  

At their core, our nation's tragically fractured response to COVID and the insurrection of Jan. 6 are killer weeds sprung from the same root stock — mass ignorance which has gotten traction as the authentic local news business died, only partially replaced by unverified social media posts. According to the Center for Information, Technology and Public Life at the University …

Editorial: Local newspapers are dying. Here’s how we can save them
4 years, 10 months ago

Editorial: Local newspapers are dying. Here’s how we can save them

LA Times  

Last month, the Baltimore Sun won a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting for uncovering a scheme in which the mayor of Baltimore sold thousands of copies of a children’s book she had self-published to Maryland’s flagship hospital network, which she helped oversee. The problems in the local news business are so widespread and severe, communities across America are in danger …

The New York Times Is Great, but Who’ll Cover Your Community?
55 years, 2 months ago

The New York Times Is Great, but Who’ll Cover Your Community?

Slate  

This article is part of the Free Speech Project, a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the local news industry was “a patient who already had all the underlying health conditions,” said …

Election-year spread of misinformation challenges local news
5 years ago

Election-year spread of misinformation challenges local news

Associated Press  

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — When a Republican running for Congress in the Chicago suburbs tweeted that her Democratic opponent’s town hall events were invite-only, they debunked it. But it’s increasingly a problem on Main Street, too, as local candidates and politicians adopt misinformation tactics and local news organizations shrink or shut down, leaving residents with fewer credible sources of information. “It’s …

Communities lose when newspapers die or slide into decline
6 years ago

Communities lose when newspapers die or slide into decline

Associated Press  

It is a story of corruption that will stay secret, politicians who will need fewer votes to win, even dangerous communicable diseases that will spread faster as our best scientists struggle to fight them. The story is the slow and painful demise of local newspapers, a story whose ending is not yet written but which — without bold intervention and …

In era of news deserts, no easy fix for local news struggles
6 years, 2 months ago

In era of news deserts, no easy fix for local news struggles

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The local news industry hasn’t been the subject of much good news itself, lately. “It’s a struggle every day,” said Charles Sennott, a former newspaper beat reporter who co-founded The GroundTruth Project, a foundation that funds the work of journalists. “This isn’t going to solve the challenges facing smaller news organizations and the communities they serve but …

Facebook to invest $300 million to help local news survive
6 years, 2 months ago

Facebook to invest $300 million to help local news survive

Live Mint  

Facebook Inc will invest $300 million over three years in local news globally as it faces blistering criticism over its role in the erosion of the news business worldwide. “But we also have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to help local news organizations grow and thrive.” Critics have slammed Facebook for its role in providing a platform for hate speech, …

Local news isn't dying out: It's being killed off by corporate greed
7 years ago

Local news isn't dying out: It's being killed off by corporate greed

Salon  

It’s become an article of faith among media professionals and people concerned with the future of the free press that the internet is killing off journalism. “Private equity firms, aka hedge funds, have taken control of the majority of American newspapers.” It’s easy to see why local media companies would be attractive targets for such investment firms. “Sinclair is forcibly …

It's not the internet that's destroying local news – it's greed
7 years, 11 months ago

It's not the internet that's destroying local news – it's greed

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Tim Berners-Lee’s …

Is Community-Funded Journalism The Answer?
16 years, 1 month ago

Is Community-Funded Journalism The Answer?

NPR  

Is Community-Funded Journalism The Answer? MARTINA CASTRO: David Cohn runs his journalism enterprise out of his one-bedroom apartment in the Mission district of San Francisco. CASTRO: And Cohn isn't the only one looking for a new ways to pay for good journalism. CASTRO: This project is similar to Spot Us, but instead of asking people to fund individual stories, O'Brumsky …

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