Despite recent declines in audience numbers, local news is vital to democracy. Research shows that it encourages voter participation, reduces political polarization and increases government accountability. It also helps community members make informed decisions about their daily lives and businesses.
Fortunately, there are many examples of locally focused journalism around the world. In the United States, for example, community newspapers are the backbone of local news. In addition to serving the needs of their readers, they provide a model for nonprofit and commercial news outlets that want to grow revenue streams.
One such organization is the Boyle Heights Beat, a bilingual high school newspaper in East Los Angeles that trains student journalists to produce hyper-local coverage of their neighborhood. The paper’s motto, “Noticias por y para la comunidad,” underscores its commitment to civic engagement. Its students focus on stories that wouldn’t appeal to a national audience, subverting the “murders and festivals syndrome.”
In other countries, local news is produced by local commercial television networks and regional public broadcasters. For example, Norway’s NRK airs an eight-minute local news bulletin each weekday after Sportnytt on channel 3 and in addition, a short local news segment is incorporated into the main evening newscast Aktuellt. Local newscasts on affiliate stations of the major television networks tend to share the branding and graphics of their parent network.
Some philanthropic organizations support mission-based local newsrooms by providing grants to sustain them financially. For example, the American Journalism Project provides grants to help nonprofit newsrooms build revenue generating capabilities. Another philanthropic effort is Resolve Philadelphia, which supports the work of a dozen journalists to cover the city of Philadelphia and surrounding suburban areas. It is funded by The Philadelphia Foundation, the Andrew Mellon Foundation and The William Penn Foundation.