The recent news that Bell Globe Media is laying off close to 5,000 employees across the country sends a chilling message about the state of local media in Canada.
As traditional media outlets like newspapers continue to struggle financially, they are cutting back coverage, reducing staff, and even shutting down entirely. This loss of local journalism threatens the health and cohesion of communities across Canada.
When local papers downsize or disappear, towns and cities lose valuable insight to local government. Citizens lose an objective source of news and information about what’s happening in their backyard. Local events, groups, businesses, and more go uncovered.
At the same time, the internet provides tools for communities to connect that didn’t exist before. Social networks like Facebook groups and Nextdoor provide online gathering places, but they lack local focus and journalistic standards. This is where community-focused initiatives like lincolnmain and imlocalca can make a real difference.
The goal of the imlocalca project is to empower and connect local communities by giving them an online hub tailored to their area. Featuring local news, event listings, business directories, discussion forums and more, imlocalca sites are essentially online versions of the local newspaper, providing that town-square experience online.
Meanwhile, lincolnmain focuses specifically on highlighting positive community stories and promoting local businesses through an online magazine format for the Town of Lincoln Ontario.
Our mission is to spread good news and strengthen communities by showcasing the best of what makes each place unique. Both these community-based media projects tap into the power of human connection.
Relationships form the foundation of strong communities, but how can those connections thrive when local institutions are disappearing? Hometown pride and identity itself is at stake when the stories, events, and businesses that root people to a place go untold.
Study after study shows the value created when communities are connected:
- A 2020 study found a correlation between reading local news online and higher levels of civic engagement, including voting and volunteering.
- A Knight Foundation report showed people who are attached to their communities are twice as happy as those who are not. Strong communities lead to more fulfillment, life satisfaction, and sense of belonging.
Neighbourhoods with higher levels of social cohesion experience lower crime rates, better health outcomes, higher economic growth and more, as noted in studies published by entities like the OECD.
Small businesses create jobs, character, and economic multipliers for their communities. Yet they are often the most impacted when local media decline. One statistic estimates that losing the local paper entirely can reduce the opening rate for new businesses by as much as 50%. The data is clear: thriving local media equates to thriving communities.
When people feel connected to their hometowns, they participate more, support local businesses more, feel safer and healthier, and have an overall greater sense of belonging.In the void left by shrinking local newspapers, community-focused initiatives can recreate that connected, informed experience online.
Both lincolnmain and imlocalca leverage the power of human connection with a hyperlocal focus not found on globalized social media platforms. They give towns an online home – a virtual main street tailored specifically to locals.
And the need is more urgent than ever.
Between the pandemic forcing events and meetings online for safety, struggling traditional local papers, and now massive layoffs decimating newsrooms, communities need new ways to stay informed and engaged. The imlocalca and lincolnmain models empower local citizens to share stories that matter to them, highlight everything that makes their community special, and bring people together around local pride.
Instead of relying on big media, they put the news and narratives of each place back into the hands of those who live there.
In an increasingly globalized and digital era, grassroots local community building is more critical than ever. When traditional gathering places disappear, citizens must take up the mantle and come together however they can – even if that means online.
