How Gentrification Makes Urban Journalism Impossible For Local Journalists

She Reports On London But Lives In Another City Because She Cannot Afford London Rent

I work as a journalist reporting on London for British publications. I cannot afford to live in London. My salary as a freelance journalist is £32,000 annually which is insufficient for London housing. I live in Nottingham one hour away from London and commute to conduct reporting.

This creates fundamental problem for journalism: I report on London neighborhoods from outside the city. I visit neighborhoods to report then return to Nottingham. I do not develop the community connections necessary for deep local reporting. I am external observer documenting a city I do not live in.

Urban journalism depends on journalists living in the cities they report on. Living in the city allows journalists to develop sources, understand community culture, observe long-term changes, and maintain credibility. Living outside the city makes journalism surface-level observation.

Gentrification of London neighborhoods creates geography where professional journalists cannot afford to live in cities they report on. The journalism becomes depersonalized documentation of neighborhoods the journalist does not inhabit.

This is particularly problematic for gentrification reporting. To report accurately on gentrification you need to understand the community being gentrified. You need to develop relationships with longtime residents. You need to inhabit the space where gentrification occurs. This is impossible if you cannot afford to live there.

Gentrification literally destroys the possibility of good local journalism by making cities unaffordable for the journalists who would report on them. The reporting becomes outsider documentation rather than insider analysis.

SOURCE: https://prat.uk