A good report from Channel Four News on local papers folding across the UK. Most of the focus is on something which hasn’t perhaps had enough coverage – the fact that issues crucial to local-level democracy are going unchecked. If the local paper isn’t there to cover something, who else will? A very important issues that will hopefully be resolved. I’m not sure how though – tackling civil disengagement, especially in the UK, is no walk in the park.
The piece, by Tom Clarke, takes a look at journalists losing their jobs, and points the finger at declining ad revenues. All well and good, but no mention of the fact that advertising revenues are not just down because of the recession, as is implied, but because advertisers are increasingly heading to the web, and even things like classifieds, once a nice little earner for newspapers, are finding a free home at places like Gumtree and Craigslist.
Inky Binary 