Is a local newspaper breaking a story newsworthy?

Yesterday (August 6) the news broke that Louise Mensch was resigning as MP. Obviously pretty big news as she’s one of those MPs that just about everyone in the country knows. What I found interesting though, was the fact that alongside this article, another article was written about the fact that Mensch told her local newspaper first, before announcing her resignation to the nationals.

I don’t think it’s really newsworthy. It’s great news for The Northants Telegraph. And I imagine it increased traffic to their website dramatically yesterday. But is it newsworthy? I don’t think so.

I’d say it’s fairly obvious. Mensch wanted her constituents to be the first to know – and rightly so. Although she is a high profile MP, the people who will be affected by her resignation are her constituents. And the easiest way for her to communicate the news to them is through the local newspaper.

And yes, local newspapers are sadly getting a lower readership with each week so it seems. But that doesn’t mean they should be written off. In fact, I’d say that’s even more reason Louise Mensch was right to give the exclusive to The Northants Telegraph. But it still doesn’t make it newsworthy.

Featured image by Stop Climate Chaos Coalition.

And yes, the Press Gazette does exclusively deal with media and journalism news. So, it would be their area of expertise. But it doesn’t mean that it needs reporting in its own article.

An MP resigning wouldn’t necessarily make big news in the nationals normally. It’s only because of who it was that it’s been page leading news. If my local MP in Essex resigned in the same circumstances I’d genuinely be shocked if the news was broken by the nationals first.

What do you think? Is it newsworthy? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @wannabehacks.

James H

"An MP resigning wouldn’t necessarily make big news in the nationals normally. "

- Not sure about that. An MP stepping down mid-term and triggering a by-election is a big deal, especially in a marginal seat.

HuwLHopkins

I think its worthy. Good work by Mensch first up, she's been an advocate for local media in her role on the media select committee. That's likely why she went to them first (along with them being her constituents) and probably partly why there is a featured story about it. A lot of newspapers hear stories from other newspapers, and only half of them will admit it, occasionally writing "originally reported in the [insert national newspaper here]", sometimes to avoid libel, other times to respect an exclusive, so why shouldn't a national paper highlight the good work of a regional? I think it should be used more often, it might increase readership and help save the dying local press.

chrisorr

The article’s a little muddled. I think what you’re questioning here is the local paper’s decision to report on itself breaking the news – but I could well be wrong. For me, the more important question’s: what’s the harm? Local newspapers are going through a torrid time so why shouldn’t they, or Press Gazette, toot their horn now and again? Just because something’s obvious doesn’t mean it has no news value. Something that’s obvious to some might not necessarily be obvious to others. For example, it’s obvious to me that not all 650 MPs would go to their local paper first – but not to you.

anon87

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Bit mean on the poor old Press Gazette here!

The Press Gazette always looks to report on splashes, even amongst the national newspapers, to show where stories are originating and how investigative various news desks are. I, personally, think that it's immensely newsworthy - especially given the decline of the regional press of late. More important still, is that the story was broken by a newspaper that has recently converted from daily to weekly (if I'm not mistaken). I think that's important to everyone because it shows that with the weekly conversions doesn't come a lazy reliance on re-writing national stories.

I think the Press Gazette should continue to report on the activities of the local press as much as possible, because god knows no one else will be.

Perhaps the more important question is 'is a press trade title reporting on a local newspaper breaking a national story really newsworthy...?'

Sorry, couldn't resist

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