A new lease of life for a local newspaper

Posted by Gavin Collins at Mon, 23/11/2009 - 10:21am in Corporate commentary, Digital news

The floods in the North of England this week have been welcome news to none, but they have helped give the Cumberland News a new lease of life. At a time when most of the media world is scratching its collective head, trying to figure out what the future of local papers is, the Cumberland News has taken the bull by the horns.

In a world where 24-hour news channels and Twitter have made "minute-by-minute-updates" an art form, The Cumberland News has embraced it. It's run live content from reporters, readers and the police, (including video clips,) nicely packaged up as Cumbria Under Water.

Alright, it's not exactly revolutionary. The nationals and countless blogs have been doing similar things for some time. But it's been picked up by other prominent sites (including the Guardian) and marks at least some innovation from the much maligned local press.

I for one still believe there's a way forward for the local press. It's likely to be online, and freesheets will probably play a part, but I don't believe (as some do) that in twenty years, old names such as the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, Manchester Evening News or Birmingham Post will be gone completely. Changed, yes. Gone, no.

There's clearly life in the old dog yet!

Tagged with: journalism