Justin McNickle (right) interviews Scotland football coach Richard Bailey (right) for WLNC radio after a game.
Contributed photo
Why local media is more important now than ever
Magazines and newspapers are just two of the ways that local media can get around to communities.
File photo
It’s no secret that mass communication has evolved over time.
But, in a world where social media has essentially ‘taken over,’ local media has started to fade away, which has led to misinformation being spread at an all-time high.
Amy Johnson, general manager of The Laurinburg Exchange newspaper, explained why local media are essential in getting the correct particulars out to the public.
“Local media is very important in a way that we are the voice of the community,” Johnson said. “We are able to provide factual information as well as sources to back it up. For small communities like ours, it is easy to find a non-truth or rumor on social media and have it get carried away, whereas local news outlets are required to provide sources when sharing a story.”
Another form of local media that is on the decline is radio.
According to the 2022 Jacobs Media Tech Survey, radio listening has decreased over the last five years. In 2022, 86% of the over 30,000 participants in the survey said they listen to AM/FM radio on any device for one hour or more each weekday, compared to 92% in 2018.
Justin McNickle of WLNC radio said the impact that radio has on communities is greater in smaller towns, however.
“The big cities, they get coverage from bigger entities,” McNickle said. “For us, we give a service to people that’s sort of a throwback.”
The influence radio, and newspapers, have on communities isn’t just through music or news though; it’s deeper than that, according to McNickle.
He feels a big value of local media is to have a personal connection with communities and that it will be hard to fully take that away.
“When (people) move away from here, they miss (the local media),” McNickle said. “They miss having their kids names called on the radio or seeing their kids pictures in the newspaper. As much as stuff is digital now and (with) social media, they still want to see it in the newspaper; people still want to hear their kids and their relatives names on the radio. To me, that’s the value of it.”
Something else that ‘new media’ won’t be able to take away is physically holding a newspaper.
Johnson said that grabbing a newspaper and reading it still has sentimental value to many.
“There is a nostalgia in holding a newspaper,” Johnson said. “A newspaper in your hands is very meaningful in a world where technology is becoming the mainstream.”
There’s no doubt that technology and digital media has become the quicker and more ‘time managing’ option for many people, but local media will always be valuable and vital to communities.