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I had a chance meeting with Emmanuel Vautier which led to my 2nd interview on the French press for Justori. Unlike RFI, where I was first interviewed, Presse Ocean is a small newspaper out of Nantes. While Nantes is the sixth largest city of France, its only local newspaper has existential challenges. Yet local newspapers play a critical role in improving living conditions of residents by keeping them abreast of what is happening or what is about to happen around them. From Emmanuel I gradually started to understand the conundrum faced by smaller local newspapers across the world. It was when Emmanuel asked my help to decipher a recording from a workshop held in English on community based journalism that he attended in Maastricht that it occurred to me the only way forward for survival of thousands of local newspapers across the world. The very technology that is killing it can throw in the lifeline for local newspapers.

The challenges local newspapers and small publications face results from:

• With fewer reporters, newsrooms make tough decisions about what to cover, often leaving out important stories on everything from public health to crimes untold
• Mergers with bigger outfits address financial concerns at the expense of editorial independence
• Reduced ability to adequately cover diverse communities
• Investigative journalism and role of newspapers to act as community watchdogs are severely curtailed

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Mike Phillips 20 Aug, 2024

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BattlepassHIP 20 Aug, 2024