Changes to local journalism won’t go away with the virus

One day, Connecticut TV anchors will return to their studios, and stories about the pandemic will disappear from newspaper websites.

But changes to local journalism won’t go away with the virus.

First, the line between the traditional “print” and “broadcast” worlds will blur even further. TV newsrooms, for instance, will move away from putting “television first” and instead adopt an “audience first” philosophy. Reporters will create content in different forms, depending on where viewers are during the day. In the morning, that means creating news for people to listen to, instead of watch, while getting ready for work. At lunchtime, it’s providing news optimized for reading on phones and social media, as people check their feeds while on break. In the afternoon, it’s writing longer webbased stories for office workers sitting at their desks. And at night, it’s producing traditional TV newscasts as people wrap up their day on the couch.

Print and online news will also look different. Editors will increase the size and number of photos and informational graphics in stories. Photos and infographics are visually engaging, tell great stories, can be viewed on any type of device, and are easy to like and share. The popularity of Instagram, especially among younger people, shows there’s demand for more of this type of visual storytelling.

The number of newspaper-produced podcasts will grow. That’s because they’re easy and inexpensive to produce, and can take many forms, from talk shows to audio narratives.

The audio-only and on-demand format helps grow an audience and appeals to people who are used to watching and listening to shows on their own schedules. YouTube-style short videos and social-media optimized stories will also start to replace longer text-based articles online, as news sites try to reach a younger audience.

There will also be a greater interest in hyper-local news in a post-pandemic world. People now realize the benefit of reliable town-level information after seeing huge differences in coronavirus infection numbers and responses across Connecticut’s towns and cities. What’s important in bigcity Bridgeport isn’t that important to someone in small-town Scotland. But because hyper-local news has never been especially profitable, and some local newspapers have stopped printing during the crisis, journalists need to find a way to make it sustainable.

One solution small newsrooms will consider is becoming non-profit organizations so they can accept tax-deductible donations. Others will call for government bailouts and grants. Journalists have traditionally, and rightly, been wary of taking money from the government, worried it will jeopardize their independence and influence coverage. But if government grants keep the newsroom open, taking the money may become an accepted business model, instead of an ethical dilemma.

Local television may decide to follow the lead of paid streaming services like Netflix in order to create a more stable and predictable source of income. Subscribers would pay to watch things like high school sports, highly localized town news, archived or “build your own newscasts,” or other original stories on demand. The stories will go beyond the “who, what, when, where, why and how” of news that can be found elsewhere, and instead focus on great local storytelling and exclusive original content, in order to encourage people to sign up and keep paying.

You’ll also see more pooling of resources between local newspapers and TV and radio stations to save money. Print reporters will start delivering stories on television. TV reporters will re-write stories for the paper. And radio stations will continue to rely on TV and newspapers for news and weather reports. These content sharing agreements help every newsroom involved by increasing the amount of news they can cover, while keeping costs down.

Finally, as large corporations continue to buy local newspapers and TV and radio stations, expect to see more stories produced non-locally, from centralized “news hubs.” Some local radio and TV broadcasts already originate from out-of-state because it’s easier and more cost-efficient. They’re betting viewers and listeners won’t know the difference, since modern technology allows you to broadcast anywhere, at any time, including from makeshift home studios.

But despite these changes, one thing will stay the same. Journalists will always remain “essential workers,” providing people with critical information and knowledge in good times and bad.