Just weather and cheese? Analysis of the content of Swiss local media online with different business models

Abstract

Changes in the media industry brought about by digital transformation are putting local media under severe economic pressure. In order to avoid closures of editorial offices and continue to provide the population with local news, media companies adapt their business models, which may affect the journalistic product. In order to find out whether published content differs depending on the business model, the paper examines the online offerings of 12 Swiss local media with different financing approaches. The analysis shows that there is great heterogeneity in terms of issue diversity, locality and originality across outlets. Media titles with alternative funding models dedicate their reporting almost exclusively to local issues. Article quantity is lower, but the proportion of in-house editorial work is high. Local media that are primarily financed by advertisement or through the implementation of a paywall maintain websites where original local media coverage is supplemented by a wide range of national and international news, the latter usually consisting of agency reports. The amount of articles is higher overall, but the proportion of the editorial offices' own work is smaller, which does, however, not necessarily mean that the quality of local reporting is lower.