42nd&Grace

Running the risk of sounding like a dinosaur who laments a time that is long passed by, I have to say this: we need local media. Not just influencers with hot takes. Not an AI system that acts as a stenographer. Not just posts with pictures that are all headlines. We need real reporters, with real experience and judgement, who can bring context to debates,

This rant was sparked by this tweet:

The myth has always been that it was news that sold newspapers and created the profits. It was not. The classified ad department and flyers were where the money was. Every week as an editor, I would go ask how big the next issue was and the answer was always ‘waiting to see how big classifieds are.’ That was the profit centre. Same with flyers. Weekly newspapers thrived because they offered total market coverage – i.e. the paper was dropped off at every doorstep and lingered for a few days.

So, this is another blow for the community newspaper sector.

And like Rob above, the fact CBC is allowed to scoop up online advertising is infuriating. I don’t want to hear an ad before I listen to Daybreak South live or a clip from it. There are no ads on my radio, so why on my phone? Plus, the CBC received close to $1.5 billion last year, so I don’t see the need for them to compete with others for online advertising.

And, in all honesty, local media continues to contribute to its own demise. The local ‘daily’ didn’t update its local news on the website for over a week. The local weekly just didn’t respond to a request for a paid obit. The local television station has been gutted and is now produced out of Vancouver and has bare minimum coverage of the area.

The only local site that seems focused on growth is Castanet, which can be best described (for those who aren’t familiar) as a radio station-format on the web. It’s fast, local and now the go-to source for information when news is breaking. Kudos to them (and not just because the occasionally publish my work).

Why does this matter?

If the only information you’re getting is from proponents or opponents, you’re basically just receiving propaganda. And with algorithms, you’re likely only getting one point of view. And that’s not good.

Challenging ideas and digging past talking points is how communities come together. A local news outlet that has the resources to curate all the opinions and facts is essential. At their best, community newspapers reflect the good, bad and ugly. It doesn’t have to be the same as it was, though the smudge of newsprint ink still brings me a smile. But the fundaments must be there. And right now, they’re falling away.

It’s not just the council news, the scandals and the complaints. It’s the story about the Scrabble club setting up stall with a famous author as a member; it’s how a small-town actor ended up on the big screen; it’s about a tiny school taking on bigger ones in sports and winning. It’s about fridge art, the OG of posting (where your parent cuts out your picture and used a magnet to stick it to the fridge). It’s all those small moments.

I know, the dinosaurs lost. But they didn’t go down without a fight and neither should local news.