The Value of Local News Coverage
The value of local news coverage cannot be ignored. Today with the entire national and international news events it is important that news organizations have the resources to cover local events and news. With the Internet today this is much easier to achieve. Many local news organizations have web sites. Coverage of national news is great but residents want to know what is taking place in their own city or state. While national news organizations do a great job it is difficult to adequately cover local events from a national perspective.
The value of local news is an important aspect of our individual needs. Local issues such as weather, school closings, traffic accidents and crime lets local residents know what is happening. This not only helps to keep us informed but to keep us safe. When traffic situations occur it is important that those driving to work, especially those driving several miles from their homes know what traffic issues are happening. Local news coverage accomplishes this aspect.
Many times there are also local charity events that are taking place which the public has a right and need to know. Sometimes these events are connected to national charity events and it is important that local residents know the connection. There are many charity organizations which have fund raisers to let the public know what they are doing and that they need funds to continue their operations.
Another aspect of local news coverage is associated with politics in letting local candidates whether incumbents or new get their issues to the voting public. This is important in this election year. What needs to happen with local news coverage is to have an honest coverage of the issues from a local perspective. This involves making sure the whole story is told not just the end result. Sometimes politicians in their ads only tell the end result and not the details of why. This makes it difficult to decide who is telling the truth and who is presenting a different picture to further their own agenda. Local news coverage in this area is critical especially in this election year and is another reason why local news coverage is important.
One important point to make about local news coverage is that they are people in our own community or state and they know what news is important to local residents. There are always going to be local news events that have a national impact or perspective. This is great but national news organizations cannot, I believe, do justice to the importance to the local community like local news coverage. Local news organizations are a great resource for communities and states. Many times there are local issues or state issues that can be better addressed through local news organizations.
In another aspect the methods and approaches used by local news organizations are not going to be the same. Like national news organizations we choose which source we like to watch and which ones we choose not to watch. While many times the same events and issues are covered by multiple news sources it is how they present them that makes an organization. Each local or national news organization provides a unique perspective to the news. Sometimes we like different aspects from different sources and many times there are options as to times local news is being broadcast. This makes it convenient for local residents. National news organizations typically report the news at the same time each day. Local news organizations sometimes have the option of choosing broadcast times while staying within the guidelines of national organizations. I like my local news organizations and I even like various news reporters and the way they handle local issues and their impact. Explaining the impact of news events to the community or state is an important aspect of local reporting and I cannot stress enough the importance covering local news.