The Closure of Local Newspapers

The question

How to approach this two-part question question

A two-part question asks two direct questions. Answer both fully, one in each body paragraph.

1. Paraphrase the topic and say how you will answer both questions.
2. Body 1 answers question one with reasons and an example.
3. Body 2 answers question two with reasons and an example.
4. Conclude with a short summary of both answers.

How to plan this answer

Structure

1. Introduction: paraphrase the closure of local newspapers and state the two parts you will answer: the economic reasons, and your view that the loss matters.
2. Body 1: the reasons, covering the move of advertising to websites, falling print sales and free news online.
3. Body 2: why the loss matters, covering reduced scrutiny of councils and courts, and the loss of local information such as planning decisions and school news.
4. Body 3: a balancing point, acknowledging that online groups and blogs fill some of the gap, but explaining why they rarely have the resources to check facts.
5. Conclusion: restate your answer clearly: the closures are driven by the economics of advertising, and they matter because local accountability depends on local reporting.

Idea bank

• Classified adverts for jobs, cars and houses that once paid for local papers now appear on free websites.
• A council planning decision about a new housing estate that is reported only in an online group, with no reporter checking the facts.
• A local paper that exposed problems at a hospital or care home, showing how reporting can hold powerful bodies to account.
• Counter-argument: local blogs and social media groups can share news quickly and are cheap to run.
• Misinformation that spreads in community groups when no trained reporter checks rumours before they are shared.

Useful vocabulary

• advertising revenue: The collapse in advertising revenue has been the main cause of closures.
• to dwindle: Print readership has dwindled as people turn to free online news.
• print circulation: Print circulation has fallen sharply over the past decade.
• to hold local authorities to account: Local reporters help to hold local authorities to account.
• a news desert: Some towns have become news deserts with no regular local reporting.
• to rely on social media: Many residents now rely on social media for local updates.
• to shut down: Several titles were forced to shut down after losing their main advertisers.
• to go unreported: Important council decisions can go unreported when no journalist attends the meeting.
• to scrutinise: A local paper is well placed to scrutinise decisions made close to home.
• community cohesion: Shared local news can support community cohesion.

Common mistakes

• Answering only the 'why' part and forgetting to explain why the closures matter to the community.
• Writing about national newspapers and their decline rather than local papers.
• Making claims about the economics of newspapers without giving a clear reason or example.
• Repeating the word 'nowadays' in every paragraph instead of using precise time references.

Examiner tip: Answer each question directly in its own paragraph, using a short heading-like opening sentence. This shows the examiner that both parts have been fully addressed.