Local News in Transition : A Comparative Study of a Local British Newsletter and a Local British Newspaper

Sammanfattning

This thesis explores the differences between local platform-based newsletters, such as The Mill, and traditional local newspapers, such as the Manchester Evening News, with a focus on how each outlet sets the news agenda and maintains journalistic quality. As local newspapers face ongoing challenges, newsletters have emerged as a growing alternative in the UK’s local media landscape. Through a combination of a quantitative analysis of themes and qualitative framing analysis, this study compares the topics prioritized by each outlet and evaluates their reporting against quality criteria of journalism, including relevance, contextualization, professionalism, diversity, and interactivity. The findings show that The Mill, operating through a reader-funded newsletter model, emphasizes slower, more in-depth journalism with greater attention to context and a broader range of perspectives. In contrast, the Manchester Evening News tends to publish more frequent, shorter stories, often centered on crime and breaking news. This research contributes to the understanding of how digital formats may shape the future of local news.