PINF’s Jaldeep Katwala breaks down our latest research into local news coverage of the most recent UK General Election
It’s hard now to think that the UK General Election was held more than a hundred days ago(!) and harder still to reflect on how well media covered the campaigns at a local and regional level. Did the quality of the coverage depend on whether you live in what PINF would term a news oasis, dryland or desert? What’s the link between the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting Service and the largest democratic voting exercise in the United Kingdom?
With the generous support of Coral Milburn-Curtis from the University of Oxford, we took a close look at how the General Election was covered in 38 constituencies across the United Kingdom.
We studied 1,032 articles from 13 oasis constituencies, 5 drylands and 20 deserts. The articles were found using a Google News search from the date that incumbent Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak called the election on 22nd May 2024, until 10th July 2024, six days after the polls closed.
We wanted the answer to questions such as: was the story exclusively about the constituency? Were any candidates or political parties interviewed for the article? If the results were written up in the article, was there any reporting from the election count itself? Was there any reportage about local issues in the General Election campaign? Were any members of the public interviewed? How were reporters employed as part of the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting Service reporting on the general election?
We broke the stories down by the type of media outlet producing the story. Was it a local or regional or national title? Was it a broadcaster, a syndicator like Yahoo or perhaps a local authority or politically affiliated publication like Labour List or Conservative Home?
So, what did we find? Let’s start with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). From our sample:
LDRS reporters were more than twice as likely (compared with non-LDRS reporters) to write stories that are exclusively about the constituency rather than, for example, a regional story that mentions several constituencies.
LDRS reporters were significantly less likely (compared with non-LDRS reporters) to write stories only giving the results of the election. Non-LDRS reporters were 8 times more likely to write stories only giving the results of the election.
LDRS reporters were more than three times as likely (compared with non-LDRS reporters) to interview political candidates in the article.
LDRS reporters were more likely to write stories involving candidates standing at the election, voter views, local and regional results and when results would be known.
When it comes to comparing articles from news deserts, drylands and oases, our research found:
61% of the 311 stories written in oases were exclusively about the constituency, compared to 23% of the 593 stories in deserts and 23% of the 128 stories in drylands.
42% of stories written in oases included interviews with candidates or parties, compared to 20% in deserts and 18% in drylands.
31% of stories written in oases had reportage from the count, compared to 6% in deserts and 4% in drylands.
37% of stories written in oases were illustrated with a photograph from the location, compared to 12% in deserts and 11% in drylands.
14% of written in oases were bylined by LRDS reporters, compared to 10% in deserts and 5% in drylands.
So what can we conclude from our research? We can say that when LDRS reporters were tasked with covering the General Election, their stories engaged more with constituency politicians and the community.
We can also say with confidence that readers in news oases, as defined by PINF, have access to more and better coverage about the General Election in their constituency than those in news deserts and news drylands.
Local democracy is best served when citizens have access to local, public interest news that enables them to fully participate in civic life, particularly around crucial moments like the General Election. PINF will keep pushing to bring about change, particularly to the UK’s drylands and deserts, to ensure that everyone can benefit from news that speaks to them, for them and with them.
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