What’s Happening:
An analysis of the probabilities and opportunities for local journalism with smart city devices identifies relationships in the value local news provides to communities. It also provides insight into the difference in serving local news on public devices (smart city technology) compared to personal devices.
Why It Matters:
Stephen Jefferson, founder of Bloom, conducted research on local news delivered via smart city devices such as kiosks, to learn and share insights to inspire ways in which journalism can be strategically designed into evolving cities. Jefferson specifically looked at 240 LinkNYC smart city kiosks in Brooklyn, New York to identify the breadth of local news coverage taking place, and to determine whether there was sufficient news coverage within close proximity of each kiosk and what type of services would be valuable to the devices based on the coverage available nearby.
The news content on these kiosks was provided by hyperlocal publishers in the New York City area and did not include large national or international media companies. The content was gathered in August 2018 from a wide range of categories such as Arts, Entertainment, Education, Business, Environment, Health, Culture, and Fashion.
