Plurality, Policy and the Local

Abstract

Word count Abstract: 244Manuscript total (without title page and abstract) = 7435Manuscript total (incl. title page and abstract) = 7825Accepted version (June 2014). For final version see: Barnett, S. and Townend, J., 2015. Plurality, Policy and the Local. Journalism Practice, 9(3), pp.332-349. 2 AbstractOver the last fifteen years, the acceleration in media consolidation has presented a series of policy challenges around diversity of editorial output. While policy debates on national ownership limits and other regulatory interventions are important, developments at the local level are often marginalised. And yet, the direction of traveltowards more consolidation and more deregulation -has arguably been more debilitating for democracy at local level, where the vast majority of citizens interact with hospitals, schools, transport systems and local councils. The decline of local media -including, in some towns, the wholesale disappearance of local newspapers -leaves citizens starved of information and local institutions less accountable.This article uses an existing conceptual framework for assessing whether and how journalism makes a real life contribution to democratic life at the local level (Barnett 2009). Against this normative framework, it then assesses the contribution of hyperlocal media sites to local democracy. We present findings from the most extensive survey of the hyperlocal sector to date, a collaboration with research partners at Cardiff and Birmingham City Universities and Talk About Local, which analysed online questionnaires from over 180 local online media initiatives. Our research offers a unique insight into the funding, operational problems and sustainability of community media sites and suggests they have the potential to fulfill a vital democratic and civic role. These data inform our conclusions and recommendations for policy initiatives that would invigorate hyperlocal sites and therefore provide a real alternative for otherwise democratically impoverished local communities.

Local Democracy and the Media

“…They conclude that "the Danish regions suffer from a corresponding democratic deficit" (Buch & Svith, 2013: 140). According to Barnett and Townend (2015), hyperlocals can create a close relationship with the audience as well as receive and maintain frequent participation from different parts of the community. Barnett and Townend (2015) conclude that a dispersal of media ownership is fundamental to a healthy democracy and, therefore, recommend policy initiatives to promote plurality through invigorating hyperlocal sites as a viable alternative to democratically impoverished local communities.…”

Discourses of Enterprise in Hyperlocal Community News in the UK

“…Moreover, they receive welcome attention from those working to influence policy-makers and potential investors. But given the pressure on individual hyperlocal producers to be entrepreneurs who embody a diverse set of non-journalistic skills, as well as playing their part in ensuring media plurality (Barnett and Townend 2014), this requires us now to ask: "how do these 'hyperlocalists' sustain their practice and what kinds of entrepreneurs might they be? "…”

Reciprocity and The Hyperlocal Journalist

“…The role that small-scale, independent news operations might play in stemming such "narratives of decline" (McNair 2002, 9) has been increasingly examined. Our own work (Williams, Harte, and Turner 2015), as well as that of Barnett and Townend (2015), has recognised that much of the output of UK hyperlocal news: gives increased voice to local citizens and community groups; contributes to the plurality of local media; and covers cultural and civic life, local economies, as well as the business of local government. Both studies find evidence that hyperlocals often fulfil important social roles such as passing on accurate and reliable information to readers, holding elites to account, representing communities to themselves and the outside world, and advocating for locals in campaigning terms.…”