“We always have access to global information at our fingertips, but never really know too much about the things that happen in our own backyard.” In the world of Breaking News, bigger stories always make it to the news bulletins and newspaper sections. However, what often gets sidelined or downplayed is the local news. Mumbai-based Punit Rajpal has founded Local Press Co – a platform to encourage citizen journalism. At Local Press Co, Rajpal and his team receive several local stories, reported by citizens, throughout the day. In this interview to Spectralhues, he tells us about Local Press Co in detail and shares his views on Citizen Journalism. Following are the transcripts of the interview:
What drove you to start Local Press Co?
I quit my job to ideate on a couple of business ideas. Most were related to a website or an app. During that time, my cousin and I got into an argument over an incident that had taken place near my area. I don’t exactly remember what it was, but I clearly remember how we both tried researching on internet and fell short of finding something. So, although the argument ended in a stalemate, it sort of got me thinking about how we always have access to global information at our fingertips, but never really know too much about the things that happen in our own backyard.
I tried researching on avenues of local information from my area, but nothing came up. I obviously thought Twitter came close, but it still fell short of covering everything and making it available to the relevant audience. So, the fact that no one was covering local information to the extent that they should, got me excited about the idea.
A few more days of research and I had a very solid list of issues or roadblocks that conventional mediums faced when it came to assimilating local information. So I started chalking out the idea for a product that would specifically address those issues. So, Local Press Co wasn’t really an idea that I just had. It evolved into one after I knew exactly what I wanted to build.
What are your views on the Local news items getting sidelined amidst the bigger stories?
I think we don’t even really know the extent of information that gets lost because we all have bits of information with us. Only when we really have a platform where we can collectively add all that information, will we ever know the extent of information that was getting missed earlier. But, in terms of what we’ve seen since we’ve started, it’s not like people don’t know the importance of local information or established papers or TV channels underestimate their relevance. It’s just that the outlets that people rely on for the most important information aren’t really equipped to cover local stories. Moreover, they’re often left with no choice but to cater to a story that connects with a larger audience.
For example, residents from a particular area might be more interested in knowing till when the water cuts will be enforced in their area as opposed to following a high profile murder mystery. But, when it comes to coverage, the odds are stacked against the residents since any media outlet that is in the business of making money will try to cover a story that can be consumed by millions. They’re not wrong in doing so, but inadvertently, some relevant information will always get missed out.
What model is Local Press Co based on?
The model, in its purest form, is extremely simple and straightforward. Individuals share and discover relevant information about their locality & city on the app. So when users come across something that they think might be relevant to others, they share it on the app as it happens. We, on the other hand, ensure the information reaches the right audience. As a platform provider, we also take on the responsibility of making sure the content is in a certain format and not promotional, political, biased etc.
Having said that, it’s not like the platform is meant for just ‘serious’ content. We have users who contribute features, satire, reviews, human interest stories etc on an ongoing basis. Also, because we have engagement options like ‘thank’, ‘vouch’, ‘dismiss’ & ‘comment’, it’s fairly easy to gauge what kind of content works with our audience.
All said and done, we’re less than 5 months old and have a long way to go. So, the model we follow right now is simply based on our current understanding. With time, we’ll understand things better and have a much better idea of what kind of information works and what doesn’t. So, the model is bound to evolve in the coming months.
What is the editorial policy? Do all the sent stories get published, or do you take a call on which would make it to the site?
The thumb rule for what information can stay on the app is simple – would others from the area find a particular information useful? If the answer is yes, it stays. If no, it goes.
But because we’re a new platform, it’s not possible to restrict the flow of content without building a substantial user base of contributors. Therefore, for the time being, every report gets published. But, if it’s been added from anywhere between 8 AM to 1 AM, it gets checked by our Editorial team within 2-5 minutes of it getting published. If it doesn’t meet our content policy, it’s unpublished and a mail is sent to the user informing him/her about it.
As the user base increases, the Editorial policy will become more stringent. The first few reports of every new user will be verified and published. Only after a user has earned a certain ‘trust score’ & ‘designation’ will any of his reports get published on their own. But, unlike most platforms that deal with user generated content, we will always have a ‘gatekeeper’ that will ensure that only genuine users are able to post on the app. In fact, the ability to restrict reports of new users from getting published automatically already exists. It’s only a matter of time before we put it to action.
Mr Punit Rajpal and the team of Local Press Co.
IMAGE COURTESY: Mid Day
Tell us about Local Press Co team.
We’re a team of 5, currently. I’m the Founder and my colleague Andrea Noronha is a stakeholder. Andrea was one of the first people I ran the idea by and she was the first to join the team. Between us, Andrea handles the Marketing & Partnerships and I handle Technology & Finance. Other than the 2 of us, we have 3 key members. Tejashri, our Editor and Sneha, our Sub-Editor. They are the ones responsible for all content on the app and decide what stays and what doesn’t. Aanchal is our Social Media Manager and is responsible for handling all our social interactions and engagements. Because of her, we now receive a steady flow of local content from social media as well. We also have a couple of virtual interns who contribute on an ongoing basis and we work very closely with a full service agency for our backend development.
How important is Citizen Journalism, according to you, in today’s era?
Let me put it this way: at this very moment, there might be about hundred stories that are worth reporting across the world. But, if you think about it, how many of those places would have a journalist stationed right there to cover them? The fact of the matter is, journalists can’t be everywhere. Individuals, like us, are. So the absolute first report, irrespective of the format, is most likely shared by citizens. Of course, they’re not always sending their reports to media outlets. But, irrespective of whether they realize it or not, they actually end up ‘reporting’ when they talk about it on social media, instant messaging etc.
In fact, it’s not even difficult to test this theory out. Just take something that was reported recently and try tracking that information on social media. You’ll most probably come across a couple of citizens who reported it there even before a journalist picked the story up.
But, it’s not like citizen journalism doesn’t have any pitfalls. Citizens aren’t trained to be objective, refrain from speculation, cover all necessary information etc. So, while citizen journalism is extremely important, so are journalists. A citizen might only report what he saw, but he won’t stay around to do a follow up report, provide an insight on how a particular event might have a cascading effect, provide relevant analytical/research data etc. So, in an ideal scenario, you’d want to rely on citizens to know the things that are happening at a slightly ‘local’ level and rely on actual reporters for in-depth reports or nation/global news.
Mr Punit Rajpal, Founder of Local Press Co.
IMAGE COURTESY: stpaulsice.com
What is being done to engage more people in reporting local stories?
Since getting local content is one of the biggest challenges for a platform like ours, we’re constantly coming up with new ways of encouraging our users to contribute. The first thing we’ve done is obviously add certain elements within the app to reward reporters. Reporters who report on a regular basis are assigned a trust score and a designation. In the coming release, the ability to use new features will get restricted to users who’ve reached a certain designation.
Other than that, we announce a Top Reporter every month. In fact, we used to award it to one individual each month, but for the month of October, we just couldn’t choose one. So, we ended up announcing 5 ‘Reporters of the Month’ and sent them a personalized gift from our team. Other than the Top Reporters, we also invite 5 writers to contribute to on our platform each month as our ‘Featured Writers’. Each one of them comes with a certain level of experience in their respective beats and contribute localized content pertaining to their beat. That obviously attracts others who are capable of contributing to download the app, check out the reports and eventually contribute on their own. We also reach out to our existing user base every few days and engage with them to ensure that they’re reminded of Local Press Co at the time when they come across something that needs to be shared with a larger audience.
Has your team come across a situation where-in you couldn’t run a story because of the risks associated with it?
Yes, we have. But, that was a one off case and it didn’t stop us from publishing it. That’s primarily because we’re not a media outlet. So, our stance is and will always will be neutral & apolitical.
Even the people who report on the app are not journalists. So, they’re not trained to be objective. Therefore, inadvertently, they are bound to end up sharing their personal viewpoints. But, that doesn’t mean we don’t let it stay published. In fact, we welcome such kind of content. We believe that users can and should exercise their right to speak up. All we do from our side is ensure that while reporting, users clearly separate out the facts & opinions and highlight what is what.
Obviously, certain things are not allowed as per our AUP. Also, we don’t really delve into crime and politics related stories to the extent that the media does. So, the risk of running into something that’s going to cause any trouble is also less.
Will the site be restricted to the local news only or do you plan to introduce anything new in the coming days?
The website is nothing but a replica of the content on the app, albeit, without its engagement options. Also, news is only one of the 6 categories we have on the app. Other than news, we also have causes, events, places, commute & others. So, to give you an idea, here’s the kind of content that typically gets posted within each category:
Causes – Good work done by locals, awareness campaigns, NGO work, blood donation camps, etc.
Events – Local flea markets, sport tournaments, food festivals, college events, etc.
Places – Local places (stores, eateries, medicals, gyms, etc.) opening or shutting down, running promotions, opinions about them
Commute – Train delays, road accidents, traffic jams, new bus routes, etc.
Others – Something that doesn’t exactly belong to any of the other categories
We’re also open to experimenting with different kinds of content. So, whenever someone posts something new, we monitor how much engagement that post gets and then try to promote that kind of content.
As for what’s in store in the future, we just introduced a ‘LIVE!’ Section on our app. That will primarily feature realtime updates from local events. If you check out the app on the 17th of November, you’ll be able to catch the first one. Other than that, we will be continuing with our ‘Featured Writers’ in the coming months and we’ll soon host a contest for bloggers on the app.
Where do you see Local Press Co in the future?
In the near future, I see it connecting local audiences & information from multiple Tier I and II cities across India. In the distant future, hopefully, as a self-sustaining platform that connects individuals and hosts information from across the globe.
Any message for our readers?
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. If you’re from Mumbai and like to stay updated on your locality and city, do checkout the Local Press Co app. And if anyone has any feedback or questions about the platform, they can feel free to reach us!
Tags: app Citizen Journalism Local Press Co Mumbai Punit Rajpal Website
