first published week of: 04/24/2023
The Future of Geographic Information Systems for Local Journalism
by Nya Wynn
According to Pew Research Center, circulation of locally-focused newspapers has declined steadily since 2015, leading to the widespread belief that newspapers are dying. This is in part due to the rise of technological advancements, such as online and televised news, but obtaining unique content that is applicable to local communities has additionally proven to be challenging for many local news stations.
With many local newspapers struggling to survive, these outlets are looking for ways to revamp the content they’re publishing in an effort to bring in more audiences. Geographic information systems (GIS) could be the answer to a call that many local newspaper outlets have been patiently waiting by the phone for.
According to National Geographic, the information GIS can map includes data about population, environmental and industry demographics. This data provides information about a broad range of conditions within a specific area or community, such as income level or type of vegetation. GIS allows people to layer various demographic information and analyze the data spatially.
I spoke with the GIS team for the City of Newark to discuss the advantages of the system and how their departments use it for day-to-day operations.
Read full story at The Review…