Local newspapers and coronavirus

Conceptualising Connections, Comparisons and Cures

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5716005
AutoresKarl He (0000-0003-3027-7492, Deakin University, autor de correspondencia), Lisa Waller (0000-0002-2689-8010, RMIT University)
Año2021
Volumen178
Número1
Páginas21-35
Fecha de publicación2021-02-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaMedia International Australia (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1329-878X • E-ISSN: 2200-467X
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1329878x20956455
OpenAlexW3084307792
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas16
Referencias citadas26

Within weeks of the nation-wide COVID-19 shutdown, more than 200 regional and community newspapers across Australia announced they could no longer keep their presses running due to the unprecedented crisis. A drain in advertising spend, a broken business model and the refusal of digital behemoths to pay for content were blamed for their collapse, ironically as audiences' demand for credible news and information soared across the globe. There is no doubt the COVID-19 crisis has widened existing, deep cracks in the news media industry. In response this article sets out to explore possible solutions and strategies for local newspapers in the post-pandemic media landscape. We take an analogical approach to argue some of the issues that emerged during COVID-19 and strategies used to fight the global health pandemic also present valuable lessons for the preservation of public interest journalism and news at the local level. We conceptualise five coronavirus-related themes that resonate with a much-needed innovations agenda for local newspapers in Australia: (1) support for essential services, (2) warnings of complacency against an evolving biological threat, (3) appreciating the power of the social (4) coordinated government/policy responses and (5) 'we are all in this together

Advertising · Business · Globe · Journalism · Local government · Media studies · News media · Newspaper · Pandemic · Political science · Public relations · Social media · Sociology · Law · Media Influence and Health · Media Studies and Communication · Misinformation and Its Impacts