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Historically, many of the local newspapers had their origin in rich local industrialists’ families (Curran, 2000, page 38), but nowadays, the local press is

only local and regional in that its markets are defined by locality and region. In terms of its ownership and its business strategy it is a massive corporate enterprise based on the elimination of territorial competition and a system of local regulated monopoly (Franklin, 1991, page 54).

The local press provides local news and features based on information from councils, police and fire services and focus on a loyalty with their community. In the past, many of the journalists were non- graduates, but this has changed now (Franklin, 1998). Stories can be considered as local “when they apply specifically to some aspect of the area in which the newspaper circulates” (Franklin, 1991, page 60). Obviously, this local story can become of national interest, as it has happened for example with the mad cow disease, which started as a local farming news (Franklin, 1991, page 61). In 2002 there were 1301 regional and local newspapers in the UK (Newspaper Society, 2002). The main forms of local press are either daily or weekly paid- fors, which are bought by readers, or free sheets, which are completely financed by advertisement. The daily local paid- for was traditionally the main source of information of local, national and international character for the working-class, whereby the local stories made the most part of the newspaper. The local weekly on the other hand, nearly only included local stories; national or international stories were only published if they could in any way be given a local angle (Franklin, 1991, page 62). The free sheets obviously are completely different and their influence on the local press will be described in a later paragraph.

What do they want and what are they there for?

Historically, the local press reported about births, marriages, weddings,

communal rites, parties or annual prize givings and fevered local patriotism. This has partly changed – the amount of these kind of news has declined as I have noticed during my work placement - but they still try to express great diversity, reflect different local opinions (Franklin, 1991), “block out conflict, minimize differences and encourage positive identification with the local community” (Curran, 2000, page

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38). The local newspapers are “supplying local communities with news and

information in a way which no other medium can” (McNair, 1999, page 199), they are the first and best in local stories, have a high degree of reader loyalty and know that the local news and information guarantees readers and attracts advertisers (McNair, 1999, page 199). A very good local newspaper would campaign and fight for its readers, take sides in a debate, show the news of the world through the local perspective and thereby reflect the community. The big advantage for them, compared for example to television, is, that they do not have to be balanced (Glover, 1998, page 121). The interesting thing behind a local newspaper is, a more direct connection between the reader and writer compared to any other media (Franklin, 1991). The basis of the local press was to approach news “both as factual and as having a moral and societal value” (Franklin, 1991, page 56). Essential to this idea is the community, a social unit, which is united by common sets of interest and worldview, which is different to others’. The journalists’ role in this is to make a record of the community and participate in the social control (Franklin, 1991, page 58).

Why are they so important?

The local press is important for the community because nine out of ten adults read a local or regional newspaper every week (Beamish, 1998, page 140) and it is the most trusted, responsible medium of all (Newspaper Society, 2002). It “is significant because it may provide a relatively open and pluralistic forum for public discussion and debate” (Franklin, 1991, page 9). It reflects the local perspective, which is shaped by industrial history and political culture (McNair, 1999). It is further important for the local community because local newspapers often have a monopoly and are therefore defining the local news, have an agenda-setting role and are the most important source (Franklin, 1991). As nowadays three-quarters of the people work within ten miles of home, media can be seen as moving from global to local and from mass marketing to one-to-one marketing. This favours the regional and local press as they can deliver target audiences most effective (Newspaper Society, 2002). Further, a high number of publications, high circulation figures (see Chart 1), a considerable

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advertising revenue (Franklin, 1991) - regional press is the second largest advertising medium after TV (Newspaper Society, 2002) - and the fact that they are still seen as

the training ground for young journalists, proves the importance of local media. On the other hand, even the local press becomes increasingly monopolistic (Franklin, 1991) and therefore may speak, just like the national newspapers, more and more with a homogenous voice. Further, critics say “local newspapers are ceasing to fulfil their former role as guardian of the truth, and keepers of the public record” (Beamish, 1998, page 167).

No community or total community paper? The free sheets

Free sheets expanded and became very lucrative in the 1970s and 80s

(Franklin, 1998b) - see Chart 2 - with the election of the Thatcher administration and their market orientation (Franklin, 1991) but declined due to an advertising recession in the 90s (Franklin, 1998b). Their main function is to advertise local businesses and services, but they contain a certain amount of news (McNair, 1999, page 15).