Local news is the backbone of any community
We would be lost without access to local information, writes student Sierra Tavener
Simply put, local news is what makes a community a community.
It is a voice that connects and informs people; taking them from merely “individuals who happen to live in the same area” to neighbours with shared interests and issues.
We no longer have town criers (thank God), but in my opinion local media outlets are the improved, modern day version of them; standing on a street corner, enthusiastically shouting town-specific information at those who pass by.
Local news is so vital because it allows us to be well informed about the representatives and their platforms that we choose to elect at a municipal level. Every community wants someone who is going to look out for their best interests at city hall, and though municipal elections may fly under the radar of larger media outlets, smaller local publications will do an in-depth look into each candidate, what they stand for, (sometimes even how to contact them) and what their election or lack thereof would mean for you.
Furthermore, local news fosters a sense of community and friendship by promoting local events and businesses for people to socialize at and enjoy.
For example — I live in the Beaches, and Beacher Magazine is constantly advertising fun activities that people in the neighbourhood can come and enjoy together. Without sources such as this, it would be much more difficult to organize and promote local events.
Last but certainly not least, local news is important because it holds community members accountable. Even on a smaller stage, corruption can begin to grow if there is no truth to check the power. The community must know if politicians or businesses are acting in ways that do not reflect the beliefs of the whole, and because word of mouth (which runs rampant in small enough neighbourhoods) is so unreliable, local news is one of the only sources that can be truly trusted.
Unfortunately, there are several threats facing local news today — chief among them the rise of social media. Why, after all, would you bother going out to a convenience store or even your mailbox when you can comfortably scroll through your phone from the comfort of your bed?
Twitter and other “fast food” media platforms have become the norm, but the issue remains that these major companies are simply not delivering information that is as immediately relevant to the consumer. In that vein, a similar threat is the increasing prevalence of online information.
If I want to know what is happening with a business that I like, I might simply go to their Instagram page and see for myself.
Now that it is so easy for companies to do their own advertising (for free, might I add) there is no reason for them to be paying local magazines or radio stations to be doing it for them.
This results in a lack of funding and subsequent budget cuts to aforementioned agencies. Which leads me to my third threat: young talent now wants to go elsewhere. Mine is the generation of new iPhones dropping every year, grocery delivery in less than an hour, finding a boyfriend in the 10 seconds it takes to look through someone’s profile.
We love advancement, and we love speed. Naturally, young journalists are going to want to work for companies that are on the cutting edge of technology, when fascinating stories come back to back at breakneck speed. We are going to gravitate toward tech-forward media outlets or online blogs that grant independence, and smaller local news stations will find it very hard to compete
That said, I believe and I hope that it is here to stay. Local news is the backbone of any community, and though we may take it for granted from time to time, we would be lost without it.