Local journalism is about giving communities a voice and empowering people with the knowledge to make informed decisions.
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But don’t just take our word for it: that’s the expressed opinion of Prince Charles, who recently said local newspapers “provide a vital service ... as important now as it has ever been”.
His remarks were addressed to the UK’s News Media Association, which held a Local Newspaper Week campaign this month.
Local newspapers “highlight so many of the important aspects of local community life in a way that no other media could hope to do,” he said.
From celebrating and commemorating social milestones to investigating issues of local governance, the highs of sporting achievements to the lows of injustice and crime, local newspapers offer a “first draft of history,” as it’s said.
Most of what we publish would not make the cut of a metro title, nor the syndicated broadcast of city-centric television and radio reports.
But this doesn’t mean it’s unimportant. These stories are very much a chronicle of how we live here, now; our living history.
Check the microfiche collection of any library and you’ll find it’s the local newspapers that give the best insights to the events and culture of times past.
As for these present days of our lives, social media has greatly changed the way that news is read and related in real time. It’s a conversation within communities, but most effective and impartial when moderated by an established media source.
In this contested age, where powerful people push their propaganda through claims of “fake news” and PR spin, more than ever do local newspapers need to draw on the wisdom of the crowd to help sift and weigh what is true and what is false.
Every one of us is a moving part in a greater mechanism, adding momentum to how our society progresses. That’s why you see the call outs on our opinion page to ‘Have your say’ or ‘Join the conversation’.
Consider your community paper as a community hall. Without the people filling it, it would be empty, dormant and a neglected asset of greater good.
Only when the hall is put to purpose – to host living history, to celebrate, commemorate and debate – is that asset realised.
So, join with us now, to keep giving this community a voice and empowering it through knowledge.