I remember watching way back in 2016 this episode of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” about how local journalism in the United States faced increasing challenges due to declining revenue and readership, not to mention the rise of fake news and social media.
The main takeaway of that episode is that despite being pooh-poohed as “laos,” “wala nang silbi,” and irrelevant in a world where information can now be accessed in a few clicks, local media still play a vital role in keeping a community alive
Not only do local newspapers highlight local businesses or events that large mainstream media networks often ignore, they also serve as a “check and balance” between local governance and the public.
I remember watching one local editor point out that without local newspapers, the chances of corruption at the city or town level are much more pervasive.
The reason, of course, is simple: no one will know what’s happening at City Hall, so politicians are at an advantage – no one will give a damn on whether that basketball court costs millions in “padded” contracts or that flood control project that they tout as the ideal solution could is actually useless in practice.
-o0o-
In the nearly eight years that OpinYon Laguna has served our community, we had slowly built up our reputation as one of the most reputable local media institutions here in Laguna province.
And I saw the impact of our local reportage first-hand when floods swept through some subdivisions here in San Pedro City a week ago.
Imagine, netizens now send us messages, photos, and videos showing the situation in their respective locations.
And we’ve heard from some of our reporters that those videos and photos we uploaded reportedly “pressured” the local government to finally do something to solve the problem of flooding (though in my personal opinion, those actions came too late, but it’s another story).
I’ve come to realize that nowadays, local media, although having “transformed,” as we must, from the traditional methods such as print to social media (I even had to learn how make Facebook reels!) can still hold a lot of power.
Oh, sure, people scoff, there are “influencers,” “vloggers,” “content creators” and such, but trust me: local newspapers, if they can adapt to the times, can be assets of change and genuine community transformation.
In fact, in light of the increasingly negative perception of influencers and vloggers as purveyors of toxic content and misinformation, it’s high time for us in the local media to take advantage of modern trends and technology and make a difference to our communities.
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