CITY AND LOCAL REPORTING
In journalism, local news refers to coverage of events, by the news, in a local context that would not be an interest of another locality, or otherwise be of national or international scope.
Local news largely covers the following:
In contrast to international news, local news is specific to a particular locality- regional politics, business and human interest stories.
LOCAL NEWS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
In the age of digital media, local news readership has started to fall. This can be attributed to the younger generation’s disinterest in traditional news sources and the inability of news stations to fully integrate their business models and practices into the age of digital journalism. While national and international news industries began using Twitter as a way to break news and interact with their audiences, local news mediums have fallen behind, trending towards using Twitter as a secondary source for spreading information rather than a primary tool for audience engagement.
NEWSPAPERS
A lot of newspapers specialize in covering the cities they are based in. Although paper copies of local newspapers are usually sold and circulated exclusively in the local areas they operate (with entities such as libraries or relatives wanting a copy of the paper where a family member is mentioned being mailed copies of outside of circulation areas), companies may make digital copies of their newspapers available to interested readers directly on their website or through services such as PressReader, often with a paid subscription.
In the United States, although newspapers such as The New York Times and Washington Post have a ‘national’ focus on their front pages, they still have dedicated sections for news in the areas they are based in. Weather sections also highlight conditions in the local area and the sport sections feature local teams alongside national sport stories. Their local editions also feature local classified ads.
CITY REPORTING
City reporting assignments include coverage of all important events happening in the city. It could be a political rally, an accident, a crime incident, a book launch, a seminar, a cultural programme, a disease outbreak etc.
Publics around the globe consume all types of news, but they are most interested in news that’s close to home. Among the four key news topics asked about, global medians of at least three-quarters say they follow news about their country (86%) or city and town (78%) closely, compared with fewer than six-in-ten who say the same when it comes to news about other countries generally (57%)
LOCAL VS NATIONAL REPORTING
Local newspapers are heavily relied on by the public for a lot of the local information that they need. National newspapers, on the other hand, provide people with stories from across the country, and around the world. Therefore, both of these types of newspapers strike popularity among different audiences; local is more popular with older people and national is more popular with younger people.
A key aspect of local newspapers is knowing the location of their consumers very well so that they can effectively provide them with the types of information that they will want to read about. Many newspaper executives have concluded that reporting on the communities in which their readers live gives them a boost in the competition with national newspaper companies. Local news consumers are more connected to their communities than others due to their length of time in the community, and the increased likelihood of them thinking or looking for things that they can become involved in, in the community.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_news
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/18/business/media/shoeleather-local-reporting.html
Disclaimer: These articles are written by students as a part of their assignment exercise during the period of COVID-19. Views expressed are their personal. Blog owner does not take any responsibility for their authenticity, correctness or appropriateness and shall not be responsible for any matter arising out of their interpretation.
15 Responses
Dear Nandini
The content is extremely well explained and described for one's better understanding of local news reporting.
I feel that the local news reporting must also be described imbibing the concept of CITIZEN JOURNALISM. I feel so because local news reporting is often brought to light once the citizens of a particular area are well aware of the situation and they report it themselves. The need of the hour is that local news reporting should go hand-in-hand with citizen journalism as that is the grass-root level for any citizen to act responsibly and vigilantly. It is perhaps for the betterment of a region where crimes can possibly take place, that the citizens must know how to deal with the prima facie cases and thereby be able to spread the word in the most responsible and ethical manner.
– Soumyaa Rawat
B.A. Hons. Journalism
Lady Shree Ram College
Well written . But the city reporting section should have been more elaborated
Really well written article Nandini. You have thoroughly explained the topic of local news. I really like how comparisons have been drawn to the international news market too.
Vasudha Raina
Department of Journalism
Lady Shri Ram College
Hey !
This is a very well researched article containing information related to all the concerned areas. I would like to suggest that you can focus on the value points of city reporting, preparation to be made beforehand and the amount of coverage received by local reporting in national newspapers. You can also talk about the impact and importance of city reporting in national context.
Hope it helps!
Thank You
– Deepika Saini
– LSR
this article is well written and very precise. Although the importance of local news could have been discussed at length and how the writing style of local news is different from other forms should have been discussed.
Hi Nandini,
The article is well written and structured.
For more details:
https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/03/facebooks-siren-call/
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-announces-300-million-investment-local-news-n958726
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-investing-300-million-to-bolster-local-news/.
Hope it helps!
Thank you,
ARYA KRISHNAN
FIRST YEAR
DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM,LSR
Local newspapers have always been the epicenter of local news ecosystems. While communities may have other sources of journalism, such as TV and radio stations and online-only outlets, the bulk of the reporting serving local communities has traditionally been provided by local newspapers.
Local newspapers have also been hit particularly hard by the economic challenges confronting local journalism, which raises questions about whether these papers still serve as the lynchpins of local reporting in their communities, and whether other types of outlets are stepping up to take their place.
Local newspapers have always been the epicenter of local news ecosystems. While communities may have other sources of journalism, such as TV and radio stations and online-only outlets, the bulk of the reporting serving local communities has traditionally been provided by local newspapers.
Local newspapers have also been hit particularly hard by the economic challenges confronting local journalism, which raises questions about whether these papers still serve as the lynchpins of local reporting in their communities, and whether other types of outlets are stepping up to take their place.
The article is crisp and concise and covers the aspects of local news well. However it is also important to note that local citizens voice their opinions about their issues using media or outlet spaces themselves. For example , writing columns , making videos and even sending their self made reports from local areas to leading digital platforms and newspaper columns . Overall the article is crisp enough and informative
Malak Tariq
the Article is well structured and well written and mam you really explained the topic of what is local news and comparison with international market writing columns , making videos and even sending their self made reports from local areas to leading digital platforms and newspaper columns good content it really helps me
This article is amazing. It has all the necessary content. I got to know a lot about this particular topic. But I feel that a lot of topics are missing. Like the importance of local news reporting, citizen journalism, its effects on journalism etc.
However, more can be read on:
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-announces-300-million-investment-local-news-n958726
One of the major aspects of the local news is citizen journalism, especially in the age of Internet and Digitalized Media.
More can be read on- https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-citizen-journalism-207366
Agrima Gulati
Journalism'22
A very articulate article here, Nandini! I found the section where the use of Twitter to spread news is compared between the local and the national newspapers quite interesting! I would've wanted to read a few more lines about that, on what research you found on it, if any, perhaps?
– Mamta K
Thank you for this, Nandini! If you could, please add the challenges a local news reporter might face and a little about the origin of local news's presence in the newspaper.
Hey Nandini, short and easy to read article. Good work just some examples of could have ben included.
Riya Verma