Hyperlocal Journalism And Digital Disruptions

At a time when digital technologies are impacting on the success and sustainability of traditional models of journalism, hyperlocal journalism seeks to restore journalistic integrity, build community, incite change and engage audiences. This book argues for the increased importance of these new forms of localized reporting in the digital age. Hyperlocal Journalism and Digital Disruptions begins with the fundamental question of what hyperlocal journalism is, then focuses on three case studies which illustrate its potential to thrive when the right balance is struck between audience engagement, investment and respect. Each case study examines a different start-up in Australia and New Zealand. Although the notion of hyperlocal journalism is not new, the ways in which these regionalized stories are now being told has evolved. This book demonstrates the increased necessity for tailored approaches to creating and providing hyperlocal journalism in order to engage targeted audiences, meet their needs for news and reclaim authenticity and credibility for journalism. This is a valuable resource for researchers, academics, students and practitioners in the areas of Digital Journalism and Media Studies generally.

In the wake of the withdrawal of commercial journalism from local communities at the beginning of the 21st century, Hyperlocal Journalism critically explores the development of citizen-led community news operations. The book draws together a wide range of original research by way of case studies, interviews, and industry and policy analysis, to give a complete view of what is happening to communities as their local newspapers close or go into decline to be replaced by emerging forms of digital news provision. This study takes the United Kingdom as its focus but its findings speak to common issues found in local media systems in other Western democracies. The authors investigate who is producing hyperlocal news and why, as well as production practices, models of community and participatory journalism, and the economics of hyperlocal operations. Looking holistically at hyperlocal news, Hyperlocal Journalism paints a vivid picture of citizens creating their own news services via social media and on free blogging platforms to hold power to account, redress negative reputational geographies, and to tell everyday stories of community life. The book also raises key questions about the sustainability of such endeavours in the face of optimism from commentators and policy-makers.

This book offers a timely insight into how the news media have adapted to the digital transformation of public communication infrastructure. Providing a conceptual roadmap to understanding the disruptive, innovative impact of digital networked journalism in the 21st century, the author critically examines how and to what extent news media around the world have engaged in digital adaptation. Making use of data from news media content production and distribution both off- and online, as well as user and financial data from the U.S. and internationally, the book traces how the news media embraced and reacted to key developments such as the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989 and the launch of Google in 1998, Facebook in 2004, and the Apple iPhone in 2009. The author also highlights innovative organizations that have sought to reimagine news media that are optimized for digital, online, and mobile media of the 21st century, demonstrating how these groups have been able to stay better engaged with the public. Disruption and Digital Journalism is recommended reading for all academics and scholars with an interest in media, digital journalism studies, and technological innovation.

Camera drones provide unique visual perspectives and add new dimensions to storytelling and accountability in journalism. Simultaneously, the rapidly expanding uses of drones as advanced sensor platforms raise new legislative, ethical and transparency issues. Responsible Drone Journalism investigates the opportunities and dilemmas of using drones for journalistic purposes in a global perspective. Drawing on a framework of responsible research and innovation (RRI), the book explores responsible drone journalism from multiple perspectives, including new cultures of learning, flying in lower airspace, drone education and concerns about autonomous agents and big data surveillance. By widening the discussion of drone journalism, the book is ideal for journalism teachers and students, as well as politicians, lawmakers, drone developers and citizens with an interest in the responsible use of camera drones.

Digital Journalism Studies: The Key Concepts provides an authoritative, research-based "first stop-must read" guide to the study of digital journalism. This cutting-edge text offers a particular focus on developments in digital media technologies and their implications for all aspects of the working practices of journalists and the academic field of journalism studies, as well as the structures, funding and products of the journalism industries. A selection of entries include the topics: Artificial intelligence; Citizen journalism; Clickbait; Drone journalism; Fake news; Hyperlocal journalism; Native advertising; News bots; Non-profit journalism; User comment threads; Viral news; WikiLeaks. Digital Journalism Studies: The Key Concepts is an accessible read for students, academics and researchers interested in Digital Journalism and Digital Journalism Studies, as well as the broader fields of media, communication and cultural studies.

Fake News: Falsehood, fabrication and fantasy in journalism examines the causes and consequences of the ‘fake news’ phenomenon now sweeping the world’s media and political debates. Drawing on three decades of research and writing on journalism and news media, the author engages with the fake news phenomenon in accessible, insightful language designed to bring clarity and context to a complex and fast-moving debate. The author presents fake news not as a cultural issue in isolation but rather as arising from, and contributing to, significant political and social trends in twenty-first century societies. Chapters identify the factors which have laid the groundwork for fake news’ explosive appearance at this moment in our globalised public sphere. These include the rise of relativism and the crisis of objectivity, the role of digital media platforms in the production and consumption of news, and the growing drive to produce online content which attracts users and generates revenue.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an established management focus of today's companies and organizations of different types, scope and size. Communication practices on CSR and sustainability in the media industry, related theoretical concepts, and empirical foundations have not yet been sufficiently explored. This book focuses on a new normative framework of sustainability, bridging the established debate on public value with the current debate on social impact and the social license to operate in the media industry. With a variety of contributions from theory and practice, the book addresses the dual nature of media and media companies, which simultaneously produce economic and cultural goods and thus bear a "double responsibility": on the one hand, for the way they present reality, monitor and criticize economic and political developments, and bring ethical concerns to the public debate. On the other hand, they bear responsibility for their own activities as companies (license to operate). The book is therefore aimed at readers interested in the journalistic perspective and at executives in the media industry.