What is Local Media Month?

Local Media Month (LMM) is a city-organized educational partnership, created by the Media Justice League (MJL), with non-governmental organizations, media outlets and community groups promoting media awareness, sharing big picture information, cultivating new media users and nurturing an ongoing relationship with current users.

From education to entertainment, media’s role is disseminating information. Local media is obligated to engage a community, learn about its needs and teach grassroots organizations, governmental agencies and average citizens how to reach out, get the information they need and share their own experiences. The project fulfills the obligation, allowing each city to grow customized events through an organic process, creating personalized experiences for citizens. City level organization allows communities to focus on unique needs, engaging individuals in a meaningful, effective manner.

While individuals may turn to media in times of crisis, emergency use encompasses only one public function of our local media and doesn’t allow interaction enough to sustain the industry as a whole. An awareness campaign of this nature creates an opportunity to educate the public on media’s everyday necessity, including the impact layoffs and changing formats in the newsroom have on the community as a whole. Other factors to consider include the democratizing role of technology in local media and ways news platforms, i.e. print, television, radio and web, can develop a driving force for greater consumption.