Books
Kristy Hess and Lisa Waller
This unique text addresses the gap between journalism studies, which have tended to focus on national and international news, and the fact that most journalism is practised at the local level, where people live, work, play and feel most 'at home'. Providing a rich overview of the role and place of local media in society, Hess and Waller demonstrate that, in this changing digital era, the local journalist must not only specialize in niche 'place-based' news, but also have a clear understanding of how their locality and its people 'fit' in the context of a globalised world.
Local Journalism in a Digital World
Robert E. Gutsche Jr and Kristy Hess
Geographies of Journalism connects theoretical and practical discussions of the role of geotechnologies, social media, and boots-on-the-ground journalism in a digital age to underline the complications and challenges that place-making in the press brings to institutions and ideologies. By introducing and applying approaches to geography, cultural resistance, and power as it relates to discussions of space and place, this book takes a critical look at how online news media shapes perceptions of locales.
Geographies of Journalism
Selected Journal Articles
2026
Hess, K., McAdam, A., & O'Connell, B. (2026). 'I want my town back': Exploring community efforts to resurrect a local newspaper in Alice Springs. Media International Australia. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X251413619
Hess, K., Ross, A., McAdam, A., Blakston, A., Forde, S., Ricketson, M., & Martin, H. (2026). Putting news in its place: An index measurement tool to evaluate local news access. Journalism. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849261427802
McAdam, A., & Hess, K. (2026). Re-asserting the value of local "news presence" for small-town news outlets in a digital era. Journalism Practice, 20(6), 1843–1858. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2024.2433659
McAdam, A., & Hess, K. (2026). “We’re selling tea towels, believe it or not!”: Exploring place as currency in the battle for local news sustainability. Journal of Media Business Studies, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2026.2679900
Diprose, K., Hess, K., & Hawley, E. (2026). Beyond Chat: Reclaiming the Art of Conversation for Journalism Practice. Journalism Practice, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2026.2720748
Hawley, E., Mocatta, G. & Hess, K. (2026). Unpacking the practices of compound hazard communication. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 143. 106309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2026.106309
Hawley, E. (2026). Framing the environment in children's news. Media International Australia. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X261443825
Rastiya, A., Hess, K., Winarnita, M., & Ricketson, M. (2026). The hidden gems: citizen journalists are empowered storytellers and agents of change. Communication Research and Practice, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2026.2708564
2025
Hess, K., & McAdam, A. (2025). 'Everyone keeps telling us it's going to die': A close examination of 'myths' clouding local newspaper futures in Australia. Media International Australia, 196(1), 48–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X241230380
Hess, K., Ross, A., McAdam, A., Forde, S., Blakston, A., Ricketson, M., & Martin, H. (2025). The importance of collaboration in meeting Australia's local news challenges. Australian Journalism Review, 47(2), 143–150. https://doi.org/10.1386/ajr_00189_7
McAdam, A. (2025). Exploring the role of community newsletters in news deserts. Communication Research and Practice, 11(2), 266–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2025.2511492
McAdam, A., Hess, K., Blakston, A., & Ricketson, M. (2025). 'Ink in our veins': Insights from Australia's small-town family newspaper dynasties. Communication Research and Practice, 11(1), 99–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2024.2395684
McAdam, A. (2025). Rethinking "sustainability" as a multidimensional conceptual framework for local journalism studies. Journalism Studies, 26(10), 1208–1223. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2025.2492738
Ross, A. (2025). Thinking about the ‘silent readers’: a regional digital ethnographic case study exploring motivations and barriers to participation in public debate on Facebook. Media International Australia, 196(1), 30-47. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X231226355
Thomson, T. J., Hess, K., Anderson, R., & Krismantari, I. (2025). Local visual news presentation and sourcing practices: Insights and implications. Journalism Practice, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2025.2593449
Gulyas, A., & Hess, K. (2024). The three 'Cs' of digital local journalism: Community, commitment and continuity. Digital Journalism, 12(1), 6–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2023.2211639
2024
Hess, K., Blakston, A., Lai, J., McAdam, A., & Waller, L. (2024). Untapped potential? Exploring the 'latent' local newspaper reader in digital spaces. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 48(3), 338–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/01968599221151084
McAdam, A., & Hess, K. (2024). Outdated or innovative? Examining news practices that have stood the test of time at one of Australia's longest-serving local newspapers. Media International Australia, 192(1), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X221104851
Olsen, R. K., & Hess, K. (2024). 'It's new to us': Exploring authentic innovation in local news settings. Media and Communication, 12(7444).https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.7444
2023
Hess, K., & McCallum, K. (2023). Reflecting on a painful Past: Journalism, Temporal Reflexivity and the Collective Memory of Child Sexual Abuse in a Local News Setting. Media History, 29(3), 401–416. https://doi.org/10.1080/13688804.2022.2092463
Hess, K., Waller, L., & Lai, J. (2023). Examining audience perspectives on local newspaper futures. Journalism, 24(12), 2593–2611. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849221134008
Magasic, M., Hess, K., & Freeman, J. (2023). Examining the social, civic, and political impact of local newspaper closure in Outback Australia. Media and Communication, 11(3), 404–413. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i3.6697
Mocatta, G., Mayes, E., Hess, K., & Hartup, M. E. (2023). The trouble with 'quiet advocacy': Local journalism and reporting climate change in rural and regional Australia. Media, Culture & Society, 45(1), 157–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221104686
2021-2022
Hess, K., & Ross, A. (2022). Exploring small newspaper attitudes to a collaborative approach with Australia’s primary public broadcaster (ABC). Australian Journalism Review, 44(2), 229-243. https://doi.org/10.1386/ajr_00105_1
McAdam, A., & Hess, K. (2022). Navigating the terrain: A typology of mapping in journalism studies. Communication Research and Practice, 8(4), 278–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2022.2137239
Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2021). Local newspapers and coronavirus: Conceptualising connections, comparisons and cures. Media International Australia, 178(1), 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X20956455
Magasic, M., & Hess, K. (2021). Mining a news desert: The impact of a local newspaper's closure on political participation and engagement in the rural Australian town of Lightning Ridge. Australian Journalism Review, 43(1), 99–114. https://doi.org/10.1386/ajr_00059_7
Ross, A., Lester, L., & Konkes, C. (2021). Audience perspectives on paying for local news: A regional qualitative case study. Journalism Studies, 22(8), 1066–1082. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2021.1916985
2020
Freeman, J. (2020). Differentiating distance in local and hyperlocal news. Journalism, 21(4), 524-540. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884919886440
Gutsche, R. E., Jr., & Hess, K. (2020). Placeification: The transformation of digital news spaces into 'places' of meaning. Digital Journalism, 8(5), 586–595. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1737557
Hess, K., & Pinto, S. (2020). Forever in our hearts: The births, deaths and marriages column in the Sydney Morning Herald, 1831–1860. Media History, 26(2), 105–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/13688804.2018.1482205
Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2020). Moral compass: How a small-town newspaper used silence in a hyper-charged controversy. Journalism, 21(4), 574–590. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884919886441
2018-2019
Hess, K., & Gutsche, R. E., Jr. (2019). Total eclipse of the social: What journalism can learn from the fundamentals of Facebook. Journalism Practice, 13(8), 1013–1017. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2019.1642126
Freeman, J., Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2018). Communication life line? ABC emergency broadcasting in rural/regional Australia. Communication Research and Practice, 4(4), 342–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2017.1370354
Gutsche, R. E., & Hess, K. (2018). Contesting Communities: The problem of journalism and social order. Journalism Studies, 19(4), 473–482. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1397933
Hess, K., & Gutsche, R. E., Jr. (2018). Journalism and the 'social sphere': Reclaiming a foundational concept for beyond politics and the public sphere. Journalism Studies, 19(4), 483–498. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1389296
2017
Freeman, J., Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2017). Making inroads: a critical examination of the ABC’s commitment to local news. Media International Australia, 165(1), 117-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X17724605
Hess, K. (2017). Shifting foundations: Journalism and the power of the 'common good'. Journalism, 18(7), 801–816. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884915627149
2016
Hess, K. (2016). Power to the virtuous? Civic culture in the changing digital terrain. Journalism Studies, 17(7), 925–934. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2016.1154796
Hess, K. (2016). Ritual power: Illuminating the blind spot of births, deaths and marriages in news media research. Journalism, 17(4), 511–526. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884915570419
Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2016). Hip to be hyper: The subculture of excessively local news. Digital Journalism, 4(2), 193–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.1002859
Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2016). River flows and profit flows: The powerful logic driving local news. Journalism Studies, 17(3), 263–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2014.981099
2015
Hess, K. (2015). Making Connections: “Mediated” social capital and the small-town press. Journalism Studies, 16(4), 482–496. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2014.922293
Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2015). Friend or foe? Regional newspapers and the power of Facebook. Media International Australia, 156(1), 19–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X1515600104
Selected Book Chapters
Hess, K., & McAdam, A. (2024). Degradation and 'desertification' of digital local news ecosystems. In S. A. Eldridge II, D. Cheruiyot, S. Banjac, & J. Swart (Eds.), The Routledge companion to digital journalism studies (pp. 40–49). Routledge.
Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2022). Bargaining with local journalism's value. In S. Allan (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to News and Journalism (2nd ed., pp. 154–168). Routledge.
Hess, K., & Richards, I. (2021). Going 'glocal': Local journalism and global ethics. In Handbook of global media ethics (pp. 635–653). Springer.
Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2020). Local journalism in Australia: policy debates. In The Routledge Companion to Local Media and Journalism (pp. 102-111).
Hess, K. (2018). Mining the depleted 'rivers of gold': Public notices and the sustainability of Australian local news in a digitised democracy. In Digitizing democracy (pp. 88–99). Routledge.
Hess, K., & Waller, L. (2016). Community and hyperlocal journalism. In The Routledge companion to digital journalism studies(pp. 194–204). Routledge.