Report: Rochesterians eager for change in local news coverage

It’s clear that local news coverage, amid nationwide contractions, is not what it used to be. A new report sheds light on how some locals consume and feel about the city’s media.

Supported by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the statewide nonprofit newsroom New York Focus kicked off a listening tour across four New York communities last year, along with an online survey, to gain a sense of how the state’s residents consume, engage and think about local news.

Surveyors convened small groups in Albany, Potsdam, Rochester and Syracuse to discuss the challenges local residents face in gaining access to information and their attitude towards media coverage of their communities. Their responses, the report says, showed that New Yorkers and newsrooms alike are eager for change, and that information gaps are contributing to residents’ feelings of scarcity.

A group of 21 Rochesterians who met in October 2023 expressed a desire for more information and for changes to media coverage. According to the report, many attendees wanted to better understand how decisions are made in Rochester but were frustrated at the time it takes to get information.

“You have to turn it into a hobby to show up,” said one resident quoted in the report, referring to municipal and school board meetings.

Local residents wanted more information about school board meetings, county government and judges in particular, and one resident said they are more likely to consume this news passively via TV or radio because the search for alternate sources of information isn’t easy.

In a similar vein, even though local media coverage has declined in scope, some attendees even expressed fatigue at keeping up with the local coverage that does exist. It takes time, money and energy.

“With the income disparity in Rochester, there are a lot of people who don’t seek out news because it seems pointless, or overwhelming and depressing,” said another resident in the report. “People therefore don’t have access to news that could actually empower them and give them some hope.”

Indeed, the perceived negative tone of reporting about Rochester was another sticking point for attendees. Some said that people are more pessimistic about Rochester relative to other upstate cities and that this pessimism is reflected in media depictions of the city.

“It often sounds like Rochester is a dead or dying town since Kodak and Xerox have passed their prime,” wrote one of the 164 respondents in New York Focus’ statewide survey.

While pushing back against the picture of Rochester as a “city in decline,” the attendees still raised serious concerns about the city’s challenges, like poverty, housing affordability and economic development.

Those who attended the listening session also scrutinized the shape of local crime coverage, criticizing reporters for potentially leaning on the same sources, like a former police chief or the chamber of commerce, when reporting on public safety. Several attendees expressed a desire for a more in-depth approach centered on data, accountability and potential policy solutions to crime.

Many of the Rochesterians’ concerns were reflected across the state. According to the report, local crime coverage across New York was denigrated as too sensational and not informative, and residents elsewhere in the state also faced obstacles in accessing basic civic information and navigating state systems.

Residents statewide also felt they needed to be hyper-engaged to find the information they need to participate democratically, the report says. These perceived information gaps worsened residents’ abilities to deal with a host of issues across the state—like housing, poverty, public health, immigration and others.

At the end of its listening tour, New York Focus drew two conclusions from the discussions. The report argues collaboration is key to the future of local journalism in the state and meeting residents’ information needs. And, community listening is a critical way for New York’s newsrooms to hear about residents’ information needs.

“Collaboration won’t be the only answer to the disappearance of local news and information across the state: addressing these information gaps will also require policy change and new models for information sharing,” the report states. “But collaboration is, and will remain, key.”

Justin O’Connor is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing  [email protected]. 

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