The Age’s Post

Independent news (not just newspapers, but legitimate sources) plays a critical role in a democracy, and it's not just the loss of local newspapers that are existential threat to the country, but the risk of conformity to a narrative that is also a real threat. As Shirer notes below, conformity bored people and they turned to sources that weren't boring. Sound familiar? The news industry is not going to address this problem with a piecemeal approach. We can agree small steps are necessary, but sometimes it takes a really big idea to address a big problem in a short period and this is one of those times. We have a big idea that reimagines how local news is reported, funded and distributed that we detail on our website (https://n2.news). We invite you to take a look and see how we can fill a tremendous need while lifting many local newsroom boats. If you think you could help us launch the project, such as packaging agents, please reach out here via LinkedIn message. #localnews #journalism #journalismmatters “With all newspapers in Germany being told what to publish and how to write the news and editorials, it was inevitable that a deadly conformity would come over the nation’s press. Even a people so regimented and given to accepting authority became bored by the daily newspapers. Circulation declined even for the leading Nazi daily newspapers such as the morning Voelkischer Beobachter and the evening Der Angriff. And the total circulation of all journals fell off steeply as one paper after another went under or was taken over by Nazi publishers. In the first four years of the Third Reich the number of daily newspapers declined from 3,6607 to 2,671.” - William Shirer, "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", (2011, p. 245-6)

A row broke out this week between five of the biggest regional news publishers and the BBC. What it tells us, in a world of rapidly evolving media consumption, is just how important regional news remains. Citypress Director and strategic media specialist Chris Marritt shares his thoughts.   #RegionalNews #LocalJournalism #UKMedia 

Many questions surround New York’s Newspaper and Broadcast Media Jobs Program, which offers up to $90 million in subsidies to hire and retain journalists in the state. Who qualifies for the subsidy, and when does it start? Read Our FAQ to Learn More: https://lnkd.in/g3FQKZDy #NewYork #Newspapers #Broadcast #PublicPolicy #Journalism

Someone will no doubt bring out the old saw that news was never intended to be a revenue-making division and was supposed to be a public service. Sorry, but that's bull. Newspapers since time immemorial were in it to profit. I think it was Canadian media baron Roy Thompson who once suggested that having radio stations was like having a license to print money. Yes, of course, we need news and responsible news at that. The model is broken not simply because of corporate greed, but because those IN media -- managing editors, producers, even reporters -- didn't fight for the RELEVANCE of news. News people and their culture still don't know how to evolve, except to adopt new shiny toys while keeping the same dumb ways of supposedly telling a story and the same ideas of what "news" is. When I turn on local CTV News or Global at 6 pm, I get BS stories about traffic accidents off the top. You use this footage because you have the video, but that somehow makes it the most important story for your lead? Really? Please. 🙄 And how many reporters are given the actual TIME to do an investigation that may mean not filing for that day, justifying their existence, but whose final result could stun Canadians, prompt government inquiry and possibly spur changes in legislation? Instead, TV outlets take the cheap way out and swipe from their newspaper colleagues, who also face shrinking resources. The answer waits with the courage of new thinking. But I won't hold my breath.

More tough times ahead for news outlets. Two very interesting views from the NYT story show the stark delta between how consumers view mainstream news outlets vs. local broadcast outlets. "As Americans prepare for an election year that will feature disinformation wars, A.I.-generated agitprop and a debate over the future of democracy, the mainstream news industry — once the de facto watchdog and facilitator of public discourse — is struggling to stay afloat." "If there’s one bright spot, it might be local television news. Though local TV news stations are enduring their own problems — heavier workloads for reporters, even as salaries have stagnated — many remain in better shape than local newspapers, said Mr. Heyward, the former CBS News president, who now works as a consultant to several local news outlets." "A Gallup and Knight Foundation survey in 2022 found that Americans placed far more trust in local news sources than national media organizations." https://lnkd.in/e-HSRQBY

“In the past, we all consumed much the same news. Now everybody's consuming their own private feed to some degree. And that's a real challenge for traditional journalism.” Pattrick Smellie, founding editor of BusinessDesk, recently joined our own Heather Claycomb, MBA, APR, FPRINZ and Kate Sarah Webber for a discussion on the ever-changing New Zealand media landscape, and what that means for media and business. Click below to keep reading more from our enlightening conversation with Pattrick.

The BBC is funded by a television broadcast licence fee, yet it is once again making cuts to its broadcast offer in order to fund digital expansion - where audiences are already well served by commercial news publishers. Online, which is the newsstand of today, the BBC has a huge advantage because it doesn’t need to carry advertising or compete for subscribers like every other publisher does. This in turn is compounded, as those factors boost load speed and SEO. The BBC was never set up or envisaged to be a text news publisher competing with the press, but today that is exactly what it is doing. And it’s goes almost entirely unchecked by Ofcom. https://lnkd.in/e6nQCuBt

Are APAC countries struggling more 🔼 or 🔽 than North America and EMEA when it comes to some of the biggest challenges for journalism in 2023? Swipe to find out! Download our 2024 State of the Media Report - https://brnw.ch/21wJz1W to uncover more next level-insights for PR. #SOTM2024

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Local TV and newspapers are increasingly owned by a handful of corporations which take money from communities without reinvesting in genuine, meaningful journalism. It doesn't help that the product has become homogenized, over-consulted stuffing. from the article: Across several years of data, there has been a drop in audiences for local TV news, affecting morning, evening, and late-night time slots alike. For example, the average number of TVs tuning into ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox affiliates for the evening news was just over 3 million in 2022, down from just over 4 million in 2016. https://lnkd.in/g5jqXgf2