New Local Media will Change the County for the Better
(June 8, 2000)
Media is the way in which a society or community talks with itself. Its how we learn things about the world outside of our direct experience without relying too much on gossip and rumour. Here in Wicklow we have three main media sources - East Coast Radio, The Wicklow Times and, of course, the Wicklow People. Each has a different focus and a different character but each also has something in common - from a local perspective at least, they are competing in a difficult market for the attention of a limited pool of county Wicklow readers and listners.
The arrival of information technology, and in particular the Internet, to this situation has been relatively slow. Nevertheless, it will be profound. Much of the content of the Wicklow People already appears on their Internet site while East Coast Radio has a larger website which it constantly promotes on air. Only the Wicklow Times has no Internet presence.
Another development has been the development of alternative news and information sources on the Internet. Greystones2000.com and Arklow.ie are only two of the county Wicklow websites that provide news and current information. it is likely that this will continue to grow as the Internet develops and as more people go online in the Garden County.
It's clear that existing media sources in county Wicklow will be facing some competition from the Internet. How extensive this competition becomes remains to be seen, but it is clearly on the way. More sources of information allows for more diversity of opinion and more mature discussion in the community. Local media competition from the Internet is therefore a very positive thing.
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