What’s the future of local news?
Murray Bridge News managing editor Peri Strathearn introduces a world-first experiment in local news distribution.
What’s the future of local news?
That question has been on my mind since I launched an independent local news service for the Murraylands in 2020.
Since then, with your support, Murray Bridge News has grown a lot since then, and shared hundreds of local stories.
But my website and email newsletter have always had one limitation.
They haven’t had a real-world presence.
For a lifetime, local news has gone like this: you go to the shops, you catch up with people, and you see a newspaper sitting on a shelf.
Even if you don’t pick it up, you see the headlines and the photos and you get some idea about what’s going on in your community.
But smarter people than me have tried and failed to make money out of newspapers over the years.
Let’s try something new.
Enter what looks like the world’s biggest smartphone.
On this screen, now installed near the Woolworths supermarket at Murray Bridge Marketplace, you can check out the latest stories from Murray Bridge News each week.
Scan the QR code with your camera app and you can read the whole story on your smartphone, or subscribe to our weekly email newsletter.
Is this the future of local news?
I don’t know yet.
But to my knowledge, it’s an idea that hasn’t been tried anywhere else in the world – not at a local level.
If it proves useful to you, I’ll establish a network of screens like this one in prominent places around our community.
But either way, I’m excited that a small business here in Murray Bridge, South Australia is having a go at something new.
Thanks to you, my readers and subscribers, and to my funding partner Substack, for your support.
Let’s discover the future of local news together.
- Advertise on Murray Bridge News’ digital display: Call Peri Strathearn on 0419 827 124 or email peri@murraybridge.news.
You can help keep local stories like this one free for everyone to read. Subscribe to Murray Bridge News today and support your independent, locally owned news service, plus get access to exclusive stories you won’t find anywhere else, from just $5 a month.
