Local News Deserts
Local news production, distribution and consumption have changed significantly during the last fifteen years as highlighted in the Cairncross review (Cairncross, 2019) and elsewhere (e.g. Hess and Waller, 2016; Nielsen, 2015). As part of these changes it is estimated that 245 local newspapers closed down in the UK (Press Gazette, 2019), news have increasingly being produced in regional hubs rather than local settings, media plurality has weakened, and local professional journalism has declined (Harte et al, 2019).
There are concerns that some communities are left without adequate local news provisions, and that the changes are adversely affecting local democracies and community cohesion. However, our understanding of variations in the impacts and the state of local news in individual communities in the UK is arguably limited, a gap this study aimed to address.
'Mapping local news provisions and consumption: Communities with and without news' project aimed to:
- map availability and reach of local newspapers (both in print and digital format) in England;
- explore patterns and relationships regarding local news provisions and reach;
- examine potential factors that might influence variations in local news provisions.
Publicly available data about local news provisions and consumption for specific locations were collated and analysed.
The project provided an analysis of local news deserts in England, which is the first study examining spatial inequalities in relation to local news at national scale. By compiling and layering different types of datasets of local news provisions and reach, the study mapped and analysed variations between different locations and how the selected factors impacted provisions and reach. Results demonstrate there are spatial inequalities in relation to local news provisions and reach in England, and most deprived communities tend to have most restricted access to local news. Findings also revealed the availability of independent hyperlocal provisions and presence of a local court do not appear to have an impact on spatial inequalities in local news provisions and reach, while media ownership was found as a potential influencing factor and underlying socio-economic inequalities as significant factor.
Key findings of the study are presented in a series of interactive maps here: Gulyas, A. (2020) Mapping local news provisions and reach in England, Centre for Research on Communities and Cultures, Project report.
For further information check out resources on the CCCU Research Space Repsository.