Distribute and Be Damned 49
and websites.
37
Such was the political sensitivity of this relationship that
the BBC created a Local News Partnership (LNP) in 2017, providing
access to relevant audio and video via the company’s NewsBank, with
an additional 150 “local democracy” reporters funded – which, as the
UK Press Gazette reported, mainly went to three companies: Trinity
Mirror, Newsquest, and Johnston Press.
38
This is not to denigrate the
activities of the LNP agreements, but 150 new journalists comprised a
very small fraction of the 6,000 jobs lost over the preceding decade. The
precariousness of such activity was further highlighted when Johnston
Press, owner of The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post among other titles, was bought out by a consortium of its debt investors at the end of
2018 following a series of financial difficulties.
39
Research done in the USA by the Mendoza College of Business concluded that when local newspapers close, the cost of local government
rises.
40
It had long been known that geographic areas with reduced media coverage had less-informed voters and lower voter turnout, but the
research by Gao, Lee, and Murphy suggested that municipal borrowing
could increase by 5–11 basis points in the long run. The reasons for this
are not necessarily simple: as well as the fact that it tends to be local
media that scrutinises local government, the authors of the report expressed concerns that underlying economic conditions within an area
could drive both the closure of news organisations and increased borrowing costs as government sought to ameliorate negative conditions.
One significant factor contributing to the decline of American local
newspapers was the use of Craigslist: the authors found that the entry
of Craigslist into an area increased the possibility of closure by about
10 per cent, which fits alongside other research that suggests Craigslist
affects advertising revenues negatively.
41
For many local newspapers and
sites, classified advertising had long been one of its most effective sources
of revenue, with researchers such as Gurun and Butler demonstrating the
deleterious effect of competition from Craigslist on property advertising
in the Pittsburgh and St. Louis areas.
42
When talking about the decline of legacy media, this is more accurately described as the decline of a legacy medium: print. While we have
already considered the significant reduction of print newspapers in the
print as a whole, some sample statistics from the UK will also demonstrate the trend. Until 2018, the biggest-selling print newspaper in the
UK was The Sun. At its height in July 1994, the paper sold an average
of 4,305,957 copies daily, which fell over the next six years but still
topped 3.5 million in 2000: in March 2018, sales had further declined
to 1,465,000 (the free sheet Metro narrowly outstripped it for the top
position with a circulation of 1,472,437)
43
While dramatic, The Sun’s
drop was considerably less than those for The Mirror and The Telegraph, which posted double digit falls in the same period. Yet, this does
not tell the entire story of what remains a very robust news service in the
and websites.
37
Such was the political sensitivity of this relationship that
the BBC created a Local News Partnership (LNP) in 2017, providing
access to relevant audio and video via the company’s NewsBank, with
an additional 150 “local democracy” reporters funded – which, as the
UK Press Gazette reported, mainly went to three companies: Trinity
Mirror, Newsquest, and Johnston Press.
38
This is not to denigrate the
activities of the LNP agreements, but 150 new journalists comprised a
very small fraction of the 6,000 jobs lost over the preceding decade. The
precariousness of such activity was further highlighted when Johnston
Press, owner of The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post among other titles, was bought out by a consortium of its debt investors at the end of
2018 following a series of financial difficulties.
39
Research done in the USA by the Mendoza College of Business concluded that when local newspapers close, the cost of local government
rises.
40
It had long been known that geographic areas with reduced media coverage had less-informed voters and lower voter turnout, but the
research by Gao, Lee, and Murphy suggested that municipal borrowing
could increase by 5–11 basis points in the long run. The reasons for this
are not necessarily simple: as well as the fact that it tends to be local
media that scrutinises local government, the authors of the report expressed concerns that underlying economic conditions within an area
could drive both the closure of news organisations and increased borrowing costs as government sought to ameliorate negative conditions.
One significant factor contributing to the decline of American local
newspapers was the use of Craigslist: the authors found that the entry
of Craigslist into an area increased the possibility of closure by about
10 per cent, which fits alongside other research that suggests Craigslist
affects advertising revenues negatively.
41
For many local newspapers and
sites, classified advertising had long been one of its most effective sources
of revenue, with researchers such as Gurun and Butler demonstrating the
deleterious effect of competition from Craigslist on property advertising
in the Pittsburgh and St. Louis areas.
42
When talking about the decline of legacy media, this is more accurately described as the decline of a legacy medium: print. While we have
already considered the significant reduction of print newspapers in the
print as a whole, some sample statistics from the UK will also demonstrate the trend. Until 2018, the biggest-selling print newspaper in the
UK was The Sun. At its height in July 1994, the paper sold an average
of 4,305,957 copies daily, which fell over the next six years but still
topped 3.5 million in 2000: in March 2018, sales had further declined
to 1,465,000 (the free sheet Metro narrowly outstripped it for the top
position with a circulation of 1,472,437)
43
While dramatic, The Sun’s
drop was considerably less than those for The Mirror and The Telegraph, which posted double digit falls in the same period. Yet, this does
not tell the entire story of what remains a very robust news service in the