• The Local News Research Project combines content analysis and digital mapping to explore issues related to local news. The project’s news poverty research examines local coverage in Canadian communities at a time when print and broadcast outlets are scaling back, consolidating or closing, and many online news sites are struggling to stay afloat. Project initiatives include The Local News Map, a study of how local media covered the 2015 federal election, and research on local news reporting on disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Other research has examined the role of ethnic media in shaping newcomers’ sense of place and portrayals of diversity in ethnic newspapers published in the Greater Toronto Area. For more information, contact us.

    Local News Research Project

  • The Local News Map is a crowd-sourced resource that tracks what is happening to local newspapers, broadcast outlets and online/digital news sources in places across Canada. It displays changes to service at local news outlets, including information on the launch/closing of local news organizations along with service increases/reductions going back to 2008. The map is a collaborative project undertaken by Professor April Lindgren, lead investigator for the Local News Research Project at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism, and Associate Professor Jon Corbett, who leads the University of British Columbia’s SpICE Lab (Spatial Information for Community Mapping). A summary of the latest map data is available here.

    Markers on a map of Canada and U.S. with box on Manitouwadge Echo newspaper ceased publishing in March 2016.

  • The COVID-19 Media Impact Map for Canada tracks the impact of COVID-19 on the media industry dating back to March 11, 2020, when the WHO declared a global pandemic. Map markers indicate the type of news organization affected (daily newspapers, community newspapers, magazines, television and radio broadcasters, and online news sites). The colour of these markers shows the type of impact on media outlets. Where there is more than one impact, markers display the colour representing the media impact according to this order: closed/temporarily closed, cancelled some/all print editions, cut back news broadcasts/shows, reduced coverage (other), layoffs/job losses, and pay cuts/reduced hours. A summary of the latest map data is available here.

  • The Local News Data Hub is committed to i) shoring up local journalism by supplying newsrooms with data-driven stories ii) training student data journalists and iii) providing support for/collaborating with journalists and news outlets on data-based projects. After identifying a dataset relevant to multiple communities, the Data Hub team does the necessary reporting to produce a story template that is then populated with data for individual cities and towns. These local stories are available to all local media via the LNDH website. Many are also shared with the Canadian Press wire service for distribution to CP clients across the country. Read more HERE.

    Local News Data Hub
Funding Journalism: A Guide to Philanthropic Support for Canadian Media

Funding Journalism: A Guide to Philanthropic Support for Canadian Media

Charitable foundations are increasingly recognizing the democratic value of quality independent journalism, and the link between journalism and the social, economic and environmental issues they care about. Philanthropic support for journalism can create many opportunities for newsrooms. But, for the relationship between philanthropy and journalism to flourish, the two sectors need a shared understanding of their respective fields.
 
“Funding Journalism: A Guide to Philanthropic Support for Canadian Media” provides practical tools for Canadian media interested in exploring philanthropy as a revenue source.

Funding Journalism: A Guide for Canadian Philanthropy

Quality journalism is a pillar of democracy. It provides trustworthy information and holds power to account. Now more than ever, we know that media influences dominant narratives that drive public conversations and policies that affect our lives. At its best, independent journalism can give voice to underrepresented narratives and create a forum where people from diverse backgrounds can engage in informed and constructive dialogue across lines of difference. While journalism’s contributions to a healthy society are widely recognized, funding journalism is still uncharted territory in Canadian philanthropy.
 
“Funding Journalism: A Guide for Canadian Philanthropy” contains practical information and tools for foundations interested in funding journalism.

Talk now, avoid conflict later: Openness and transparency are essential as philanthropic support for journalism becomes more widespread

By APRIL LINDGREN
There is growing recognition in the philanthropic sector that journalism produced in the public interest is part of the critical infrastructure of communities.
News organizations in this country are increasingly in need of more diverse revenue sources as advertising dollars disappear. Philanthropic support is one of those new revenue sources…

The role of philanthropy in the world of journalism

“Philanthropic Support for Journalism: A Canadian Roadmap” is a project of the Local News Research Project (LNRP) that investigates the potential for Canadian foundations and other sources of charitable giving to shore up journalism. In this podcast, the challenges and opportunities associated with philanthropy as a revenue source for news organizations are discussed…

Map of Canada and U.S. with COVID-19 data

We mapped all the media impacts of COVID-19 in Canada

By STEPH WECHSLER From pay cuts to layoffs, print reductions to closures, thousands across the industry are hit hard by the pandemic More than 100 media outlets in Canada have made cuts in 11 provinces and territories in a six-week period, with nearly 50 community newspapers shuttering. Upwards of 2,000 …

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Thunder Bay: Local news is important for conversations on reconciliation

By APRIL LINDGREN The Ontario city of Thunder Bay is in the headlines these days for all the wrong reasons. Canada’s highest rates of murder and violent crime. The highest number of hate crimes per capita. Systemic racism embedded in shoddy police investigations. The deaths — many unexplained — of Indigenous students who come to the city for education not available in their remote northern communities…

Cameras pointing towards group of people

How Ottawa should spend its $50 million to support local news

March 26, 2018 By APRIL LINDGREN, Ryerson University Who holds officials accountable when cities like Thunder Bay, Ont., rife with political and racial tensions, have no local reporters? (Shutterstock)   There’s $50 million in federal government money on the table in Canada to support local journalism in the country’s under-served …

Newspaper pile

Instead of mourning local news, try paying for it

By APRIL LINDGREN, Ryerson University Canadians often mourn the loss of their local newspaper. But there’s a disconnect, because few Canadians actually pay for a local news subscription. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)   Expressions of shock, concern and loss were widespread recently after Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and Torstar Corp. …

Image of news stands and headline that reads mapping local news

Want to understand local news? Make a map

By SAHAR FATIMACritics have suggested that scholars seeking to advance journalism studies must adopt a more multidisciplinary approach to research, one that looks beyond the strict confines of sociology, history, language studies, political science or cultural analysis. In this article, April Lindgren and Christina Wong argue that the geography of …

Local News Research Project

The Local News Research Project combines content analysis and digital mapping to explore issues related to local news. The project’s news poverty research examines local coverage in Canadian communities at a time when print and broadcast outlets are scaling back, consolidating or closing, and many online news sites are struggling to stay afloat. Project initiatives include The Local News Map, a study of how local media covered the 2015 federal election, and research on local news reporting on disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Other research has examined the role of ethnic media in shaping newcomers’ sense of place and portrayals of diversity in ethnic newspapers published in the Greater Toronto Area. For more information, contact us.

Markers on a map of Canada and U.S. with box on Manitouwadge Echo newspaper ceased publishing in March 2016.

The Local News Map is a crowd-sourced resource that tracks what is happening to local newspapers, broadcast outlets and online/digital news sources in places across Canada. It displays changes to service at local news outlets, including information on the launch/closing of local news organizations along with service increases/reductions going back to 2008. The map is a collaborative project undertaken by Professor April Lindgren, lead investigator for the Local News Research Project at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism, and Associate Professor Jon Corbett, who leads the University of British Columbia’s SpICE Lab (Spatial Information for Community Mapping). A summary of the latest map data is available here.

The COVID-19 Media Impact Map for Canada tracks the impact of COVID-19 on the media industry dating back to March 11, 2020, when the WHO declared a global pandemic. Map markers indicate the type of news organization affected (daily newspapers, community newspapers, magazines, television and radio broadcasters, and online news sites). The colour of these markers shows the type of impact on media outlets. Where there is more than one impact, markers display the colour representing the media impact according to this order: closed/temporarily closed, cancelled some/all print editions, cut back news broadcasts/shows, reduced coverage (other), layoffs/job losses, and pay cuts/reduced hours. A summary of the latest map data is available here.

Local News Data Hub

The Local News Data Hub is committed to i) shoring up local journalism by supplying newsrooms with data-driven stories ii) training student data journalists and iii) providing support for/collaborating with journalists and news outlets on data-based projects. After identifying a dataset relevant to multiple communities, the Data Hub team does the necessary reporting to produce a story template that is then populated with data for individual cities and towns. These local stories are available to all local media via the LNDH website. Many are also shared with the Canadian Press wire service for distribution to CP clients across the country. Read more HERE.

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