Mark Schneider has no plans to become the next Rupert Murdoch but he still has a lot to celebrate after his start-up newspaper celebrated one year in print.
Key points:
- The Bridgetown Star is a small newspaper in WA's South West
- It is celebrating its first year of print despite the pressures of the regional media industry
- The editor says local news is in demand and is actively stamping out misinformation
At a time when regional newspapers around Australia are folding, the newspaper editor from Western Australia's South West is proving there is still a thirst for local news.
After retiring from journalism, Mr Schneider said he grew bored and realised he missed writing.
"Journalism is my first blood really and I saw a need for a paper in Bridgetown and I thought I'd go for it," he said.
He started The Bridgetown Star as an online publication but moved it to print when he realised there was a demand in the community.
"It's actually been easier to get advertisers on a print edition than to get it online."
Duty to correct local misinformation
When Bridgetown battled an emergency bushfire in early 2022, Mr Schneider said he was proud to sift out misinformation in the community.
But with the quickly evolving emergency, he knew his monthly publication was not immediate enough.
"In the end I put news items out through Facebook just to keep people up-to-date on what was happening," he said.
"The response has been pretty good but obviously I've put a few noses out of joint occasionally because people don't like some of the news, but that's journalism for you.
Bridgetown Star bucking the trend
The demand for hyper-local news publications such as The Bridgetown Star has grown across regional Australia, according to Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) WA director Tiffany Venning.
"We saw at the start of COVID some of these agencies that were servicing these areas close their doors and move out completely, and the need from the locals to have something to fill that gap has shone through," she said.
She said larger metropolitan papers often don't have the capacity to cover news on a local level.
"Local community news and regional news, they're almost like the glue of these communities," she said.
"They can take heart from The Bridgetown Star and see what is possible."
Bridgetown Star celebrates one year in print despite decline of local newspapers - ABC News
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