Czech newspapers published less local news content in 2009 than what they did in 1989, writes Lenka Waschková-Císařová, of Masaryk University. The author analysed the contents of two Czech local dailies, and interviewed journalists working for the publisher of said papers, the Vltava-Labe-Press (VLP).

The content analysis shows that shared content (centrally produced and thus identical) increased sharply in the two VLP papers from 2002 onwards. Simultaneously, unique content rapidly declined. According to the interviews, it was 2001 when VLP set up a central newsroom for many of its local papers, the author writes.

The VLP’s aim, however, was to better root itself in local communities by formally mandating certain local aspects, the interviews reveal. Superficial localization, like dedicating front pages to local topics, only poorly mask the actual delocalization of content under large corporate ownership, the author concludes.

The article Czech Local Press Content was published by the journal Communication Today. It is available online (open access).

Picture: Untitled by lutz6078, licence CC0 1.0.