The study “Engaging Audiences With Local News: Can Solutions Journalism Be a Solution to Local Media Crisis?” by Noha Mellor from University of Sharjah and An Nguyen from Bournemouth University looked at whether the much touted solutions-oriented news could attract and engage audiences for local media.
Solutions journalism is identified as having several qualities, according to McIntyre and Lough (2021). It focuses on social problems, responds to them, has evidence of the impact and limitations of this response, and cites sources that have expertise on the topic.
This study contributes to the literature on solutions journalism by conducting research on how local audiences responded to solutions-oriented news in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chiswick Calendar, from London, is chosen as the focus of this case study. Instead of audience fragmentation, the underrepresented topic of audience’s shared experiences is investigated.
The method of the study was based on qualitative, in-depth interviews. The participants were from the local neighborhood, within the circulation of the Chiswick Calendar. There were a total of 21 participants, 16 of whom lived in the heart of Chiswick and 5 on the outskirts. Five identified as men and 16 as women. The discrepancy may be due to the fact that women, according to research, have stronger social connections with local communities. Three of the participants reported belonging to an ethnic minority group, reflecting the demographics of the affluent Chiswick. Most had high education.
The participants largely agreed that news during the pandemic were overly negative, with some avoiding news as a result. Despite this, they were also sometimes suspicious of overly positive articles of the “feel-good” variety, such as a local story of a flower shop being set up, questioning whether such stories were journalism. Some also suggested that the story might have been irresponsible in downplaying health concerns.
The pervasive skepticism presents challenges for the view that solutions journalism can be applied to local journalism. However, the authors suggest that this may be more localized to Chiswick Calendar (CC), as the participants were “critical news evaluators” who judge news based on their previous experiences and prior knowledge of the news outlets.
A solution for local journalism to use solutions journalism is that journalists should refrain from being seen as promoters and advocates, and maintain what is known as “proper distance” with the stories, striving for objectivity. Cultural context and differences between audiences are key to understand here – there might be no generalized answer.
In conclusion, the study highlighted the need to assess audiences not just as rational actors (Kahneman 2021) but also as people with emotional and preexisting ideas and beliefs. These include social cues from the local community and information about advertising and sponsorship that can lead to declining trust in local news. This was seen here when the participants applied their knowledge of CC to interpret its coverage of COVID-19.
The article “Engaging Audiences With Local News: Can Solutions Journalism Be a Solution to Local Media Crisis?” by Noha Mellor and An Nguyen is in International Journal of Communication (open access).
Picture: Untitled by Marc Najera (tagged Chiswick).
License Unsplash.