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Local journalism, at its core, is all about serving the needs of the community with local content that can be hard to find anywhere else. This is true for communities across Canada as well as in other countries.
“When a town has its own newspaper, it has an organised and accountable watchdog to safeguard the rights of citizens, celebrate good news, and facilitate debate. Without local journalism, communities risk losing a vital part of their identity and democratic transparency.”
A Reuters Institute report by Hanna Käyhkö explores the Finnish newspaper landscape and shares learnings that can work no matter where you are. “How to tell if we are meeting the needs of our community? There are two signs to look for. Does your local newspaper makes people’s everyday lives easier? Is it part of the social fabric of your community?”
Käyhkö presents several ideas that can be tried and tested locally in order to identify community needs and produce reliable journalism to meet those needs.
- The advertising pipeline
- User-generated content
- Award programs
- Wellbeing tools
- Games
- Services that foster community
- Using AI to help local newsrooms
Click here to read the full report.
Here in Canada, local newspapers continue to provide content that makes them the most trusted of all formats, according the most recent Newspapers 24/7 research. Six in ten Canadians trust printed newspaper or news media website content. Click here to view the Newspapers 24/7 research.