Wednesday 20th September: Local news consumers are hungry for more

Good morning! Today's newsletter is brought to you by Chris.

As AI advances continue to disrupt the way we work, there are many questions from news and media organisations: What will be the impact of AI on audience expectations? How can we maintain trust in our news content in the AI era?

Reuters sheds light on these questions in an exclusive report: Powering Trusted News with AI: Navigating the present and shaping the future.

The report explores the role of AI in news and journalism and offers practical advice on how AI can help streamline your processes.

Always delighted to feature a piece of analysis from our friend Michelle Manafy, and this one is no different. Research from The Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media has underlined the importance of local news for consumers in the US, many of whom rely on those local and regional titles for far more than just the headlines. It echoes what we’ve heard for years about the community those titles foster — and why losing them would be nothing short of a calamity.

“In general, individuals who consume local news tend to consume more news overall compared to other news users according to The Center’s research. Local news users primarily rely on national news media as a top source of news with approximately 57% of local news users citing a national news outlet as at least one of their preferred sources.”

We can’t ignore the fact that — as Michelle points out — there have been significant declines in both supply of and demand for local news, and there is plenty of data in here that examines how and where consumers now seek out local news. Underlying all of it is the understanding that local news is invaluable — and that something special is lost every time a local title has to close its doors.

I have, to be completely honest, gone off on one in this article for our own site. But what else can you do when the former head of Sky News argues that brands choosing to exercise a democratic right is ‘anti-democracy’ just because they’re boycotting a brand he likes? It’s go off on one or break down and weep at the stupidity enabled by our tribalism. So I’ve put together a list of questions to ask next time some total numpty tries to suggest that brands boycotting a news outlet with ad spend — any news outlet — is “a threat to democracy”.

We’ve been taking a long look at AI for news providers lately, with some especially useful practical tips. Maybe you’ve seen some of our efforts? But it’s always useful to get a plurality of opinions, and this piece by David Caswell combines insight from a number of journalists and editors into a digestible look at what we can expect from AI and journalism, from the deployment of chatbots to more transformational projects.

Journalism is often a long hard slog, so it’s always useful to have the support of a community. Whether that’s for help with contacts, advice, mentorship, or just having a communal moan, it’s always helpful. We’re delighted that our new community forum has made this list of journalistic communities from journalism.co.uk - which has always been at the centre of a brilliant community in its own right.

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