What News?: The Market, Politics and the Local Press (Communication and Society)

A survey of the role and the future prospects of the local press in the 1990s. The authors also take into account the radical changes the local press have been through with new technology and the proliferation of free newspapers. Popular perceptions of the local press in Britain centre around images of newspapers printed on old-fashioned machinery, filled with reports of courts, councils, fetes and jumble sales, and the births, marriages and deaths of local citizens. Bob Franklin and Dave Murphy argue that this perception is long out-of-date. With almost 1,800 titles, including paid and free, morning, evening and weekly newspapers, the local press is a highly significant component both in local media networks and in the context of the British press as a whole. Many papers combine substantial circulation figures with high levels of advertising revenue and are likely to be the single most important source of news for many households in the area. And, at a time when large sections of the national press are speaking with the same monotonously right-wing voice, the local press can provide a relatively open and pluralistic forum for political debate. What News? examines recent developments which have radically altered many aspects of the organisation, production and content of the local press. The rapid growth of free newspapers, the introduction and application of new printing technology and shifting structures of ownership are investigated and related to the wider context of the national media

The local press is popularly thought of as conservative, technologically backward, and obsessively parochial. In What News?, Bob Franklin and David Murphy argue that this perception is long out-of-date. Comprising not only traditional evening and weekly paid newspapers, but also newer and often more vital elements—free newspapers and the alternative press—the local press is a significant component both in local media networks and in the context of the British press as a whole.

What News? examines recent developments which have brought radical change to the local press. The proliferation of free newspapers, the introduction of new printing technology, and an increasing concentration of newspaper ownership are investigated and related to the wider context of the national media.

Combining statistical information, lucid analysis, and detailed case studies, What News? surveys the role and future prospects for the local press in the 1990s. Students and teachers of media and communication studies, journalism, politics, and social studies will find this book an invaluable resource.

Book Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Tables 7 Chapter 1 The local press: defining the new boundaries 10 Chapter 2 The corporation and the parish pump 31 Chapter 3 The traditional local press 49 Chapter 4 Free newspapers: some of the news that’s fit to print-and much that isn’t 64 Chapter 5 The alternative local press 85 Chapter 6 The municipal free press 102 Chapter 7 Local press reporting of the 1987 general election 119 Epilogue 147 Appendix I 152 Appendix II 156 Notes 158 Select bibliography 167 Index 170 A survey of the role and the future prospects of the local press in the 1990s. The authors also take into account the radical changes the local press have experienced with the advent of new technology and the proliferation of the free newspaper.