Facebook wants you to know what’s going on in your area.
That is why the social media giant announced on Thursday that it will expand its Today In news initiative to more than 6,000 cities and towns across the U.S. in an effort to combat “news deserts.”
Users who live in participating Today In municipalities get to opt into the service, which delivers local news, non-profit organizations and public service announcements directly to mobile newsfeeds. Once activated, critical alerts like road closures, crime reports and election results can be sent in real time—though that also depends on individual notification settings.
This is helpful for citizens who live in areas that lack local news coverage, but it also puts responsibility on the user. According to Facebook, a little over 1.6 million people “have opted in to receive regular local updates from Today In.” That number is a far cry from the estimated 169.5 million users in 2018, as predicted by digital market research company eMarketer.
Despite the limited engagement, Facebook affirmed that Today In features content from over 1,200 local news publishers every week.
A media study by the non-profit Poynter Institute in late 2018 found that more 1,300 U.S. communities have lost local news coverage. This is a dangerous precedent according to David Chavern, President and CEO of News Media Alliance.
“Local news is important. It’s one of the only controls for political activity. If you don’t have local journalism looking over the shoulder of local politicians, that’s just a recipe for corruption and criminality,” Chavern told FOX Business.
“But probably as or more important, local news ties communities together,” he added. “There’s a reason why press is mentioned in the first amendment. It’s because it plays a really big role in pulling us together.”
When it comes down to why local organizations are struggling to stay in business, Chavern said it’s because they no longer control the distribution of content. Instead, popular social media sites and search engines are information gatekeepers that also eat up ad revenue.
Kris Ruby, the CEO of New York-based public relations and social media agency, Ruby Media Group, concurred that the evolution of the digital has harmed traditional local news organizations with targeted advertisements.
“People quickly learned they could get a much better return on investment with digital advertising dollars deployed on Facebook for way less than they were spending on traditional print ads,” Ruby told FOX Business.
“Ads in local papers still play a role in brand building, but they are not the whole marketing communication pie that they once were,” she explained.