Rationale for Small and Local newspapers

This is an era of globalisation and 24X7 TV channels and internet news options. The national and international print news papers are facing severe competition from the alternative technological options. While the national and international newspapers are focussing on global, national and state level news the local news is getting rare attention. I am not saying there is no attention at all. There is. But it is not sufficient. I am also not saying that there are not at all any local news channels. There are local TV channels emerging and they are doing their best to cover the local news. My contention is that there is a sincere scope for a local level newspaper/newsletter in the local language covering local news, highlighting local culture, crops, food varieties, dieties, handicrafts, histroy, depicting the news and views of local leaders, providing platform for discussing local issues/concerns/problems thereby leading to solutions that can be locally implemented.

The idea is not at all new. I borrowed this idea from the famous Malgudi days, written by famous RK Narayan, where there is mention of a village daily called Malgudi times. In developed countries like USA the local news papers are thriving very well and doing better than the international newspapers.

This blog aims to provide the readers with all the information that is required for setting up and running a local newspaper/newsletter. One advantage of the local newsletter is that it increases the literacy levels of the local people. However it can not be denied that there are no local newspapers/newsletters. They may be obscure and lack brand identity. There could be an opportunity to establish a chain of local newspapers with proper brand image

The mainstream newspapers are coopted into the process oof globalisation having national fervour and does not provide proper space for the local wisdom.

I have initiated this thought more than 10 years back and everybody laughed at it. But the websearch proved that there are many existing in the developed counties and surviving well. The CSOs, corporates can take this idea into practice. Through Facebook I shared several such instances of local newspapers, the modalities involved in the setting up of a newspaper etc. This idea has an universal appeal. But the contents of the blog can be restricted to one country such as India. It is so because the procedures for registering a newspaper vary from country to country and the legal frameworks will be different.

It is not my intention to set up and demonstrate one. The idea can be caught on by social entrepreneurs and be implemented. I am confident that if the idea is implemented in its true spirit then there will be radical transformation in the semi-urban, rural and remote areas of the world.

Time only can tell! You can look forward to further additions to this