Local Matters: Searching for signs of resilience as pandemic worsens community news crisis
The pandemic has placed a prominent focus on the challenges and the future of local media. Nevertheless, one goal remains a priority: putting community first.
The Local Matters panel at the Carleton University-hosted Journalism in the Time of Crisis virtual conference was moderated by Carleton journalism professor Randy Boswell. The discussion with four panelists focused on the sobering realities of news outlet closures and layoffs, key sources of COVID-19 media coverage that need further support, and new ideas to consider going forward.
Ryerson University journalism professor April Lindgren, principal investigator for the Local News Research Project, began the panel by listing overarching COVID-19 impacts. Fifty-one news organizations have closed or temporarily shuttered, 810 employees have faced permanent layoffs, and a total of 2,553 workers have been laid off for some stretch of time since March 11, according to project tallies.
Lindgren discussed potential solutions for supporting more sustainable media enterprises in Canada, such as recent regulatory changes allowing news organizations to get charitable status to accept donations and issue tax receipts.
“I think that is opening up potential for more philanthropic support,” she said.
There may also be more opportunities to do collaborative work among struggling media organizations, she said, “rather than the sort of dog-eat-dog model where both of them are gnawing at bones anyway,” she said.
Lindgren highlighted the role of journalism schools, as well, and their students’ reporting work in supporting their local communities.
Patricia Elliott, a journalism professor at the University of Regina, reflected on the state of local media in her surrounding communities in Saskatchewan. She highlighted the vital role of Indigenous radio stations. “Their reach and language abilities have made them key frontline players. However, they are not well supported,” said Elliott.
Many stations are indicating serious challenges with staffing and unstable funding. This is concerning, she said, since Saskatchewan has 20 per cent of Canada’s Indigenous language speakers and Indigenous people comprise 15 per cent of Saskatchewan’s overall population, said Elliott.
“Community radio is a lifeline providing advice and countering rumours that COVID is not a serious threat outside urban areas,” she added.
Mark Glaser, a U.S. advocate for strengthening local news and founder and executive director of MediaShift, echoed the importance of putting community first.
Understanding and involving audiences is key to finding a solution for communities that lack local news sources, he said. If audiences in certain communities have higher incomes, “it requires asking them to subscribe, become a member, become a donor.”
Grant support, help from local businesses, key community stakeholders and foundations are other viable options, he added.
One novel solution is the use of texting to reach audiences — sometimes for a low subscription fee — with local news updates. This is a different kind of writing, noted Glaser, with bullet points and short news hits that can work effectively to keep audiences informed through a device almost everyone possesses: a smartphone.
Willy Palov, a veteran sports reporter for the Halifax Chronicle Herald and head of the Halifax Typographical Union representing hundreds of news workers in Atlantic Canada, discussed the devastating hit on newspaper advertising in recent years and balancing the transition to web without losing print subscribers, since print newspaper revenues are “what keeps the lights on” for legacy news operations.
At the Saltwire news network in Atlantic Canada, although ad revenues dried up by almost 90 per cent in the early weeks of the COVID-19 crisis and 40 per cent of employees faced temporary layoffs, Palov said some bright spots shone through.
Readers were relying heavily on print products and web sources of community news for information about the pandemic. The baseline function of news operations became the delivery of hard news, but commentary and feature work continued to enrich the flow of content.
Web engagement on reader interest in longer features went up significantly. And when audiences became fatigued with COVID-19 news, lifestyle, entertainment and human interest stories were needed to create a diversion, said Palov.
A key lesson, he added, has been the importance of driving traffic through the web and mobile devices and considering new and better strategies to create a sustainable future for local news.
Despite the big challenges facing the local news sector in the U.S., Canada and beyond, Glaser said he is optimistic about the future.
“I do have some hope even in these dark times that there are some bright spots out there.”
For more, watch the whole panel here.
