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Hip to be Hyper: The subculture of excessively local news

Version 2 2024-06-03, 10:22
Version 1 2015-08-31, 14:02
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-03, 10:22 authored by Kristy HessKristy Hess, L Waller
Local news is nothing new, but there is an unmistakable hype around its reinvention in the digital age through the hyperlocal phenomena. This article applies the lens of subculture theory to move beyond questions related to who produces hyperlocal news, how to pay for it and its democratic potential, to focus on its social and cultural values and meanings. In doing so, it engages with the normative and political economy approaches that dominate this niche of journalism studies. We argue that a cultural approach can generate much-needed critical perspectives on the significance of what we term “excessively local news” and the future of mainstream journalism in this globalized world. In the process, it challenges media scholars and practitioners who cleave to traditional hierarchies of value about what hyperlocal news is and should be, even at the risk of being unfashionable in the digital age.

History

Journal

Digital Journalism

Volume

4

Pagination

193-210

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

2167-0811

eISSN

2167-082X

Language

English

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal, C Journal article

Copyright notice

2015, Taylor & Francis

Issue

2

Publisher

ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD