Why Bother With Community Journalism?

Community journalism is everything that ‘hard news’ journalism is not. It can be fun, shallow, thought-provoking or even just mundane. But at the heart of it are the people. And sometimes what they do isn’t covered or is minimally covered. This type of journalism I believe is very important and should always have a place in news publications. But before I get more into that, let’s start with some definitions.

 

So what is community journalism?

Academically speaking, community journalism is “a specific practice of gathering, packaging, and distributing news in predominantly small, distinct geographic markets, with an emphasis on local news and information about community life,” according to Bill Reader. This definition has somewhat changed over the years, and now means more of stories that are focused on what’s going on in the community. But it maintains the first definition in that it really only is found in local publications, as opposed to national publications such as The New York Times.

 

Why should anyone care?

Well, community journalism isn’t exactly a necessity to any publication. They don’t have to report on a local woman who baked the world’s largest cookie. Or a political protest against a local mayor. They just don’t. But there’s something about those stories that makes us care and want to read them. If all there was in newspapers were stories on crime, politics, business and sports, I wouldn’t really feel a connection or real emotion. There needs to be something that gives me hope, makes me feel joy. Something that gets to the human element of life.

 

 Does anyone actually care?

In short, yes, I do believe people care. Being one of those people, this is a form of journalism that should always exist. But it’s not just one person’s opinion that can save it from being cut. In fact, there is an entire book and even website dedicated to just that.  To them, everyone is a stakeholder in community newspapers. Vendors, shareholders and employees, readers and stakeholders ensure the success of such a newspaper. Because of that, that could mean potential trouble for said stakeholders.

Also, just by simply googling the term ‘community journalism’, the second item listed is from the UNC Press, titled ‘Saving Community Journalism’. Then once you get scrolling through the many pages of results, more links to universities and other websites. The takeaway from a simple Google search is that yes, people actually care.

 

Okay, now what?

So community journalism. Not quite hard news, not quite opinion stories. A place where journalists can get somewhat creative in what they report. Stories that can inspire. Stories that bring recognition to ideas and people that otherwise wouldn’t be reported on. Stories that add excitement to the everyday. This should be a form of journalism that if cut from local news publications, should hopefully live on in another format. Which brings me to my last point.

 

The Internet

This thing, the internet, a part of daily life, can be integral to community journalism. Anyone can post stories or blogs online without having to be a journalist. There’s nothing stopping me or you from finding a problem or finding an interesting person in whatever city or town and writing about it. Of course, there’s always the issue of credibility if someone’s essentially acting as a citizen journalist. Regardless of that, this is a form of journalism that can still be maintained, even without the mainstream media.

 

The takeaway

The point is, community journalism should be a mainstay in all news publications. Even though it may not be entirely relevant on the national level, it has its place. It tells the stories of those who would otherwise be unrecognized. Locals of whichever area it is want to read about the local things that happen there. From the thrilling to the mundane. All of which are a part of a community.

 

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