I’ve been thinking a lot about local news. Last week, while driving to the hilarious middle of nowhere man cabin pictured above (it’s used for fly fishing and has an abundance of twin beds and enough bathrooms so every man can poop in peace) I listened to
Investigations win awards, but local stories win readers - so much this!
I'm big on the idea that a community is a group of people with a shared story. People - particularly people under 40 - are so segmented by Facebook, by living in their own online niches. Local news outlets need to tell the stories people will chat about at the shops, at school drop-off, at sport on the weekend. Without those shared narratives you don't have a community, you just have a bunch of people who live in the same town.
Picking up the local Sooke News Mirror brings maybe 14-20 flyers and then the mostly local news. I really love the idea of focusing on the local people and their stories! We also have a archivist who writes a column from local museum collections. One other major reason thing I do is subscribe to the Times-Colonist (I wish they’d change that last part to Courier) from the Capital city of B.C. —Victoria! Even if I don’t have time to read it cover to cover I let my neighbours know it’s available to read or lend. I started a small community paper and the wort part was lack of corporate financial support.
Each time I'd go back to my hometown, i'd read the paper. I'd check the obituaries, the birth announcement etc. It's a link, it's there. It's important, a reminder of people I've once known. I smile each time there is a name I recognize. Because how else would I know about them but from the local papers? My family still read it. I don't and I feel like I'm missing something. I get the news I'm willing to read from the Internet, and it misses the connection. I am hopeful that local newspapers will revive, not at the old scale, but still. It's vital.
Investigations win awards, but local stories win readers - so much this!
I'm big on the idea that a community is a group of people with a shared story. People - particularly people under 40 - are so segmented by Facebook, by living in their own online niches. Local news outlets need to tell the stories people will chat about at the shops, at school drop-off, at sport on the weekend. Without those shared narratives you don't have a community, you just have a bunch of people who live in the same town.
Picking up the local Sooke News Mirror brings maybe 14-20 flyers and then the mostly local news. I really love the idea of focusing on the local people and their stories! We also have a archivist who writes a column from local museum collections. One other major reason thing I do is subscribe to the Times-Colonist (I wish they’d change that last part to Courier) from the Capital city of B.C. —Victoria! Even if I don’t have time to read it cover to cover I let my neighbours know it’s available to read or lend. I started a small community paper and the wort part was lack of corporate financial support.
Each time I'd go back to my hometown, i'd read the paper. I'd check the obituaries, the birth announcement etc. It's a link, it's there. It's important, a reminder of people I've once known. I smile each time there is a name I recognize. Because how else would I know about them but from the local papers? My family still read it. I don't and I feel like I'm missing something. I get the news I'm willing to read from the Internet, and it misses the connection. I am hopeful that local newspapers will revive, not at the old scale, but still. It's vital.