Local Journalism

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

For more than a century, local journalism has been taken almost for granted. But the twenty-first century has brought major challenges. The newspaper industry that has historically provided most local coverage is in decline and it is not yet clear whether digital media will sustain new forms of local journalism. This book provides an international overview of the challenges facing changing forms of local journalism today. It identifies the central role that diminished newspapers still play in local media ecosystems, analyses relations between local journalists and politicians, government officials, community activists and ordinary citizens, and examines the uneven rise of new forms of digital local journalism. Together, the chapters present a multi-faceted portrait of the precarious present and uncertain future of local journalism in the Western world.

No matter how ambitious they may be, most novice journalists don't get their start at the New York Times. They get their first jobs at smaller local community newspapers that require a different style of reporting than the detached, impersonal approach expected of major international publications. As the primary textbook and sourcebook for the teaching and practice of local journalism and newspaper publishing in the United States, Community Journalism addresses the issues a small-town newspaper writer or publisher is likely to face. Jock Lauterer covers topics ranging from why community journalism is important and distinctive; to hints for reporting and writing with a "community spin"; to design, production, photojournalism, and staff management. This third edition introduces new chapters on adjusting to changing demographics in the community and "best practices" for community papers. Updated with fresh examples throughout and considering the newest technologies in editing and photography, this edition of Community Journalism provides the very latest of what every person working at a small newspaper needs to know.

This unique text addresses the gap between journalism studies, which have tended to focus on national and international news, and the fact that most journalism is practised at the local level, where people live, work, play and feel most 'at home'. Providing a rich overview of the role and place of local media in society, Hess and Waller demonstrate that, in this changing digital era, the local journalist must not only specialize in niche 'place-based' news, but also have a clear understanding of how their locality and its people 'fit' in the context of a globalized world. Equipping readers with a nuanced and well-rounded understanding of the field today, this is an essential resource for students of journalism, media and communication studies, as well as for practising and aspiring journalists.

This comprehensive edited collection provides key contributions in the field, mapping out fundamental topics and analysing current trends through an international lens. Offering a collection of invited contributions from scholars across the world, the volume is structured in seven parts, each exploring an aspect of local media and journalism. It brings together and consolidates the latest research and theorisations from the field, and provides fresh understandings of local media from a comparative perspective and within a global context. This volume reaches across national, cultural, technological and socio-economic boundaries to bring new understandings to the dominant foci of research in the field and highlights interconnection and thematic links. Addressing the significant changes local media and journalism have undergone in the last decade, the collection explores the history, politics, ethics and contents of local media, as well as delving deeper into the business and practices that affect not only the journalists and media-makers involved, but consumers and communities as well. For students and researchers in the fields of journalism studies, journalism education, cultural studies, and media and communications programmes, this is the comprehensive guide to local media and journalism.

In recent decades, turnout in US presidential elections has soared, education levels have hit historic highs, and the internet has made information more accessible than ever. Yet over that same period, Americans have grown less engaged with local politics and elections. Drawing on detailed analysis of fifteen years of reporting in over 200 local newspapers, along with election returns, surveys, and interviews with journalists, this study shows that the demise of local journalism has played a key role in the decline of civic engagement. As struggling newspapers have slashed staff, they have dramatically cut their coverage of mayors, city halls, school boards, county commissions, and virtually every aspect of local government. In turn, fewer Americans now know who their local elected officials are, and turnout in local elections has plummeted. To reverse this trend and preserve democratic accountability in our communities, the local news industry must be reinvigorated – and soon.

Local Journalism investigates the range of meanings associated with the ‘local newspaper’ and considers how digital technology has disrupted the fabric of the local news industry. Divided into two parts, this book first provides a theoretical account of how normative meanings associated with the local newspaper have been challenged by the impact of digital technology and then goes on to explore these questions via case studies drawn from a variety of contexts including the US, Ireland, Denmark, the UK and Spain. It suggests three thematic ways of understanding the role of the legacy local newspaper in a post-digital environment, namely as an information provider, commercial entity and community champion. While much scholarship talks of their demise, this book argues for a more nuanced understanding of the local newspaper and its continued significance to people, places and commercial interests. Local Journalism will benefit students, academics and researchers in the areas of journalism, media studies and sociology.