Tyler Nagel | The Changing Ecology of Local Media in Canada

Tyler Nagel | The Changing Ecology of Local Media in Canada | University of Groningen, The Groningen Research Institute for the Study of Culture (ICOG) |  Promotor(s): prof. dr. Marcel Broersma,  Geoffrey Hobbis, PhD | September 1, 2021 – September 1, 2025 | t.w.s.nagel[at]rug.nl | https://www.rug.nl/staff/t.w.s.nagel/

Community news media in Canada is in a state of crisis. Since 2008, more than 300 local news outlets in 214 Canadian communities have closed. Other local media outlets are merging with geographic neighbours, reducing staff, and reducing or eliminating print publications. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have further contributed to this decline.

The goal of my study is to explore the effects of the closure of local news organizations in many communities in Canada. Such closures disproportionately affect remote regions, leaving many communities with limited local media, and in some cases, no local media whatsoever – “news deserts”. Although local media’s challenges have received scholarly attention elsewhere in North America and globally, there remains much to understand about Canadian news media and the communities they serve. The objective of my work is to shine a light on this blind spot.

My research will cohesively examine producer, content, and audience, aiming to provide new insights into shrinking local media in Canada and form a baseline for future work in this rapidly changing environment. Increased understanding of the dynamics and effects of a shrinking local media ecosystem can help news organizations to adapt and will advance academic scholarship on the topic of journalism in Canada.