From My town to Yours

Navya Sharma

Sipping on hot tea and sitting under my cozy blanket, in front of you the global news covered all the usual suspects: political chaos, environmental disasters, and economic downturns. It was overwhelming, as if the weight of the world’s problems was sitting heavily on your shoulders alone. But amid the noise, there was something glaringly absent—the news that truly matters in that moment, the news happening just down the street in your own town where people did not even have enough to cover their flesh with, you feel a sense of guiltiness for your comfort and you think to yourself,
“There has to be something I can do”
obviously and it’s only appropriate to have a system in place to ensure that you are kept informed about such matters
and that is where localisation of news plays its importance

While globalisation has broadened our perspective, it has simultaneously eroded the voice of the locals. We must ask ourselves: can we truly understand the world without first understanding our own neighbourhood? Localisation of news is the antidote to the alienation that global narratives sometimes produce—it brings us back home, where stories are personal, urgent, and real.

When I was growing up, the local newspaper was more than a printed page. It was a thread connecting neighbours and neighbourhoods, revealing stories of both triumph and struggle that would otherwise remain unheard.

International headlines dominate the screen, while the challenges in your community are buried under layers of global noise. This is the reality in a world where local news is marginalised, and the essence of what connects us to our surroundings begins to unravel. Localisation of news, often overlooked, is not merely about proximity; it is about relevance, resonance, and survival in an increasingly globalised media landscape.
In a world awash with clickbait and sensationalism, the localisation of news ensures that journalism remains a pillar of democracy. It encourages accountability—holding local governments and institutions to task—and fosters a deeper, more empathetic understanding of the world right outside our front doors.
The hard truth? Without local news, the powerful would govern unchecked in our own backyards. Localisation enriches our civic understanding, promoting engagement and solutions tailored to the unique needs of our communities. The responsibility to safeguard the heart of local stories lies with us. It’s not just news—it’s the voice of our communities, and without it, we are all lost.