Future of local journalism: digitization as a key to relevance

Future of local journalism: digitization as a key to relevance

Friesoythe, Deutschland - In an exciting topic evening in Friesoythe, Carsten Bickschlag, regional manager of the NWZ, and Ulrich Suffner, editor-in-chief of the OM media group, discussed the challenges of local journalism in the digital era. In front of around 20 listeners it became clear that the printed newspaper is becoming increasingly expensive and more uneconomical. Rising paper prices and delivery bottlenecks press the industry, and the two media houses are now fully relying on digital strategies to remain relevant.

"We are in the middle of a transformation that can no longer be stopped," said Bickschlag. Both publishers have already introduced extensive digital offers such as nwzonline.de and om-online.de as well as e-paper. Suffner emphasized the need to deliver profound journalism and separate themselves from less relevant content in order to meet the needs of the readers. Despite the concerns of viewers about any less local reporting, the speakers made it clear that the restaurant was still the focus. In this fast -moving time, new formats such as podcasts and AI also play a central role in the future of local journalism. Further details are in an article on www.nwzonline.de