Local coverage in metro newspapers has been diminished for years…and itis not just a Buffalo thing.
Steady newsroom cutbacks over a span of not just years but decades have contributed to that deficit, but theyire not the only cause. In too many newsrooms, the sex appeal of good local coverage has evaporated. Reporters and editors donit think local coverage as a path to career advancement. But, perhaps more importantly than both those reasons, urbanization is the cause for the decline. American metro areas are too complicated for any single news organization to truly cover effectively and creatively.
So whatis the answer? The San Francisco Examiner has an idea. They only have a reporting staff of six, yet almost everyday they kick The Chronicleis butt on local coverageoa paper with one of the largest newsrooms for its circulation size in the country.
The Examiner does it by maintaining a singular and relentless focus on the city proper. They use wire stories for national and international coverage and almost never concern themselves with the larger Bay Area.
The result is that readers in San Francisco continue to embrace the Examiner in growing numbers because itis the paper that covers local and hyper-local matters more aggressively and creatively. And readers know that if they actually approach the Examiner with a local story idea, it might actually appear in print.
A metro dailyis lack of interest in hyper-local coverage has opened up a market segment that a smaller rival gleefully exploits.
So what would happen in Buffalo if a small independent publication employed a collaborative and hyper-local approach with a talented and plugged-in and mostly amateur staff toward covering community affairs, local entertainment, culture and style?