When Pandemic Stories Become Personal Stories: Community Journalism and the Coverage of Health Inequalities

ABSTRACTSocial media’s influence on journalistic norms and practices is a prominent theme in journalism studies. For small news organizations, there is not always a clear line between their public image and the online identities of their journalists. Focusing on such ambiguity, this article examines the integration of social media use and journalistic practice at The Local, an independent online news magazine based in Toronto, Canada, as well as its potential implications for community journalism. A qualitative thematic analysis of 300 tweets about the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, posted by the magazine’s official account and its two star journalists, revealed a unique journalistic approach that prioritized hyper-local, data-informed, and affective storytelling over the traditional norm of journalists as detached observers and information providers. This finding sheds light on how journalism practices at The Local and other comparable digital news startups may contribute to the revival of community journalism.KEYWORDS: Community journalismsocial media usejournalistic normpandemic reportingalternative mediaexplanatory reporting Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThe pilot phase of this study was funded by an LA&PS Minor Research Grant from York University.