Writing for communities, not algorithms
It’s not particularly original to say that in an age of clicks, shares, and ‘you won’t believe what happens next’ posts, journalism is increasingly shaped not by the needs of communities, but by the demands of algorithms. This assertion, that we’ve shifted from serving people to serving the platforms where people digitally congregate, may now itself be a form of cliched clickbait. Yet it remains true that healthy democracies thrive on dialogue, while algorithms reward echo chambers.
Since I’m dealing in the currency of the obvious, here’s another one. When newsrooms chase engagement metrics, they prioritize sensationalism over substance. Stories that spark outrage are generally rewarded, while nuanced reporting is a tough sell. Citizens are less informed about the issues that directly affect their lives.
(I do understand why journalism chase the clicks. Community newspapers are going out of business or being bought up and slimmed down. Regional press faces financial pressures. Across Atlantic Canada, coverage is thinning and vital local stories are disappearing.)
The algorithmic pressure diminishes environmental reporting as well. Climate change coverage is often sidelined, simplified, or stripped of local relevance. Misinformation fills the void, and communities lose an important tool for informed decision-making.
Stories about community-led regenerative agriculture, municipal storm adaptation efforts, or Indigenous community solar don’t tend to trend — but they may be exactly what we need to see. Local journalism can connect the global climate to local impacts. It can showcase how communities are responding. It can help build cautious optimism that it’s not too late.
By telling climate and clean energy success stories happening at the community level, in ways that are both accessible and empowering, we might help overcome feelings of climate fatigue and climate despair. I believe independent climate reporting has a key role in local well-being:
It educates the public about climate change, its causes, and its impacts.
It tells the stories of solutions-oriented approaches that can inspire action.
It helps bridge the divide between science and policy decisions.
Because realistic hope should be newsworthy.
-SK