Vernacular journalism: Local news and everyday life

Abstract

This paper, based on in-depth interviews with 57 local journalism entrepreneurs in the UK, develops the idea that these emergent and small-scale local news organizations prioritize a form of “vernacular journalism.” Driven by a democratic impulse, vernacular journalism reflects the preoccupations, experiences and histories of ordinary people and their communities, providing a vehicle for representation and voice, which is often missing from more established news organizations. Vernacular journalism seeks to (1) make a difference in the local community, and (2) represent the nature of the community, providing a “first draft” of its history from its inhabitants’ perspective. The ability to provide such vernacular journalism is premised on knowledge of the community, cultivated through long-standing presence. The provision of a vernacular journalism which reflects the world from the bottom up is a unique selling point for local journalism, against the top-down orientation of larger regional and national outlets.