The future of community journalism is no longer just about social responsibility or democracy or advertising, wrote J-Source.ca innovation editor Robert Washburn, “It is about the economic survival of towns, villages and neighbourhoods.”
He wrote that local news media “can and should be seen as playing a critical role if rural communities hope to be resilient in the face of economic upheaval.”
If journalism is vital to the economic survival of small and rural communities, we need to figure out not only how to save but strengthen it or we risk the survival of these communities that these organizations are a part of.
“To me, the role of the media in the community is twofold,” said Tim Shoults, B.C. Interior divisional manager for Glacier Media. “Obviously, to inform, educate and entertain the community in local matters (in that order) and to serve as a forum for civil discussion and debate on local issues.
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