Local Journalism and Municipal Communication under Digital Transformation

Digital transformation has led to tremendous changes in the Swiss media landscape. One effect of these developments is an accelerated process of media concentration on the national level that goes in parallel with a weakening and thinning of the local media landscape. This poses both a problem to citizens who depend on a vital public sphere in the direct democracy and to municipalities, which have the legal obligation to inform citizens about public activities. While legacy media try to implement new digital business models in order to recapture their former role, new digital content and service providers enter the market offering journalistic/news content or/and new options for municipalities to communicate directly. The goal of this project is (1) to analyse which types of legacy media and of new digital content/service providers exist, (2) which services they provide to municipalities in order to fulfil their obligation to inform citizens and (3) what kind of content they publish. Thus, the project integrates and analyses both, journalistic and political actors, with the aim to develop normative implications for both sides. The findings result in practical guidelines for a future oriented local public sphere serving the needs of municipalities and of the citizens.