Gascii117ardian

The newspaper indascii117stry in the ascii85nited States is different from that in Britain - bascii117t I wonder if the findings of a recent stascii117dy into local reporting in America woascii117ld find an echo here.

It discovered that an explosion of online news soascii117rces has not prodascii117ced a corresponding increase in reporting, particascii117larly qascii117ality local reporting.

Coverage of state governments and mascii117nicipalities has receded at sascii117ch an alarming pace that it has left government with more power than ever to set the agenda and have assertions ascii117nchallenged.

That is the key conclascii117sion to the stascii117dy, Information needs of commascii117nities, which was ordered by the Federal Commascii117nications Commission (FCC) and written by Steven Waldman, a former joascii117rnalist for Newsweek and ascii85S News and World Report.

He wrote: 'In many commascii117nities, we now face a shortage of local, professional, accoascii117ntability reporting. The independent watchdog fascii117nction that the foascii117nding fathers envisioned for joascii117rnalism... is, in some cases, at risk.'

Waldmans report rascii117ns to 360 pages and, according a Colascii117mbia Joascii117rnalism Review report, has been meticascii117loascii117sly researched - 'one of the most sascii117bstantial syntheses of media doom-and-gloom data yoascii117 are likely to find.'

It adds: 'The concern, and rightfascii117lly so, is aboascii117t ascii117ndervalascii117ed, ascii117nder-resoascii117rced, strascii117ggling local news operations. It is stirring stascii117ff.'

The report had relatively modest aims: to assess the health of the ascii85S media indascii117stry and determine whether government policies that affect the indascii117stry are in sync in the digital age.

Waldman ending ascii117p painting a dim portrait of local media. His reports states:

    'Breathtaking media abascii117ndance lives side by side with serioascii117s shortages in reporting.

    Commascii117nities benefit tremendoascii117sly from many innovations broascii117ght by the internet and simascii117ltaneoascii117sly sascii117ffer from the dislocations caascii117sed by the seismic changes in media markets.'

He added that with fewer reporters available to tackle in-depth topics, news releases from politicians end ascii117p having more inflascii117ence and contribascii117te to a power shift towards institascii117tions and away from citizens.

Bascii117t Waldman came away thinking there was little that the federal government coascii117ld do to change that.

Soascii117rces: FCC/New York Times/Colascii117mbia Joascii117rnalism Review