Community newspapers (should) do things differently

Respondents to this part of my study were also asked whether they felt the kind of arts and entertainment reporting carried in community newspapers should be different from that run in mainstream or commercial newspapers. There was a nearly even split, with six of the eleven

saying community arts reporting should be different from that of the commercial papers, four saying no and one saying “yes and no”. All had strong opinions to support their stance. While those who said “no” generally supported their viewpoints by making reference to quality of content, that is, that community papers should strive to the same standards upheld by mainstream papers, others believed that if community newspapers reported on the same arts and entertainment events being covered by mainstream newspapers, it would benefit the arts industry by getting their news to larger audiences. On this point, Eichenberger (2015) noted:

It is important that what is happening mainstream is communicated through the local papers as well as local entertainment. However, identifying up and coming talent from the area should be exposed and particularly those who are now in mainstream performance. Local theatre offers new talent and if

reporters were able to attend productions they would find new personalities to write about. There should be reviews of local productions to guide

communities as to what to see.

Others who felt there should be a distinct difference between arts and entertainment reporting in community newspapers and commercial newspapers, highlighted the importance of local focus, creating platforms for lesser known artists and directing readers to events happening in their neighbourhoods. Wright (1960: 608) also believed that community newspapers play – and should play – a different role from larger metropolitan titles because they focus on telling local stories rather than duplicating mainstream news. Friedmann (2015) noted that a community newspaper should “talk to its readers” and should also play a role in reaching young readers who do not buy mainstream or commercial newspapers, and thereby expose a younger audience to the arts. To this, Gilbertson (2015) added that readers “like to know they make a difference and artists or events have a connection with them” and that if the artists they were reading about were from the area they lived in, or was personally known to them, they may be more likely to support the event being reported on.

One of the respondents, however, was undecided, saying that while she turned to daily and community newspapers for an overview of what was happening, she turned to her

community newspaper for “a little more depth and information about shows and events taking place in my specific area” and “interviews with people performing in the show – and these are especially interesting if a performer is from my area” (Vickers, 2015). Davids agreed that community newspapers should take a different approach to arts and entertainment reporting,

but pointed out that often smaller theatres and amateur arts groups were “double victimised” by the media who, he believed catered largely for rich, middle class readers. He added:

Community newspaper will contribute greatly towards “being agents of change” by publishing arts and cultural stories that not only differ with the mainstream reporting in its content by giving it a “human interest” face as opposed to writing arts and cultural stories that is a marketable production advert parading as a journalistic story. (Davids, 2015)

The media studies scholar Pieter Fourie noted that the community media sector was developed because media messages had been “largely targeted at the wealthy and literate and cater[ed] to the perceived needs of the middle and upper classes” (Fourie, 2005: 26). One therefore has to ask the question: if more grassroots arts practitioners feel the way Davids does, if the community newspapers are adequately fulfilling their role in the mediasphere.

Furthermore, writes Fourie, when community newspapers become dependent on advertising to cover the costs of their production, there is an increased focus on the “commercialisation and popularisation” of the papers, which sometimes leads to the blurring of the differences between community and commercial media (Fourie, 2005: 24).

While most PR practitioners rated the arts and entertainment reporting in community newspapers highly, some felt there was room for improvement, that more creativity should go into coverage and that entertainment reporters needed to make themselves more visible by attending more events and therefore deepening their own knowledge of the industry (Kruger, 2015). Two felt that community newspapers’ arts and entertainment coverage was “only as good as space allowed” (Friedmann, 2015; Vickers, 2015). Another was far more scathing in his assessment, saying that arts stories did “not always reflect the lives of the ardent readers” and that rather than relegating arts and entertainment stories to the “Cinderella pages” of the paper, editors should consider setting aside a section of the paper for coverage of the arts (Davids, 2015).

When asked what they considered to be good arts reporting, most respondents put the emphasis on accuracy and the amount of work reporters put in to expand on press releases sent to them, others pointed out that a good arts report would leave the reader “with no doubt as to what he or she can expect from a show or event” (Vickers, 2015) and that good arts reporting was the result of newspapers using “credible reviewers” (Eichenberger, 2015).

Others emphasised the importance of research an “informed writing” because many journalists were not necessarily trained in the arts and because “each discipline has [its] own language”, it was important for the journalist to use correct terms when reporting or writing about the arts (Friedmann, 2015).

Another publicist noted that good arts reporting should be constructive, even when it is critical because “a review by one individual can make or break any production” and that a “constructive report on what is produced on stage is all that’s required – any personal opinion should be left out of the equation and up to the audience to decide for themselves” (Publicist 1, 2015). Furthermore, noted another:

Community papers are really important for the arts. Lots of journalists like the idea of arts and entertainment reporting (they go into it thinking it’s glamorous) then realise not all the time. They must realise that the artist or event they are writing about is the life of the person…. Not just another story. More training would be a good call. (Gilbertson, 2015)