COMMENT By Jesse Graham
THIS month is a sad one for the newspaper industry, with Leader Newspapers calling it a day on the Free Press Leader and closing down their paper in the Dandenong Ranges.
The announcement on 6 June came with news of several other newspaper closures across the Leader stable by the end of the month, with resulting redundancies.
It’s always sad news when job losses are announced, and the journalism industry in particular has had a tough year with other organisations cutting down staff and costs.
Sadder still is when a publication ceases altogether, and a weekly newspaper disappears from a community.
The journalists at Leader, as with other media outlets, are the people on the ground with us at breaking news events, asking questions and gathering information.
They, like us, try to tell your stories in a way that informs, entertains and generates discussion – and as locals and journalists, we’re readers as well as competitors.
We at the Mail try our best to tell every story we can, and to get the whole story across without fear, favour or influence – but having two newspapers in an area offers a number of voices and variety, which benefits any reader who dedicates the time to leaf through both.
It’s something that’s often taken for granted; something that won’t be fully appreciated until it’s gone.
And the Free Press Leader will be missed, by our team and Hills residents alike.
The news landscape has been shifting in the last 15 years; social media and better internet access means that important stories can be told instantly.
The method of informing a community with newspapers has turned into a two-way street where readers can give feedback and share information as a story develops. The paper is a finished result of this discussion and development.
But local newspapers aren’t immune to the changing landscape and with all the positives of instant publishing, there are challenges with how the industry goes forward which have been spoken about at length.
It’s important to remember that local news will always have a place, but it needs support. The recent news about the Free Press Leader is a reminder of how valuable local news voices are, and for those voices to not be taken for granted.
If you enjoy the work of a publication – whether that is the Mail, a magazine, a newspaper or a website – show your support any way you can.
That support can come in the form of a Letter to the Editor on an issue you feel passionate about; it can be an email about upcoming events or interesting stories; it can be advertising dollars and it absolutely should be subscriptions, following social media pages and clicking stories online.
It’s always noticed and it’s always appreciated, and we live and die by that support.
