In the report titled  "The Past, Present, and Future of Kastamonu Local Press," policy recommendations regarding the digital transformation and future of local press were discussed.

The sixth study in the Kastamonu Reports Series, prepared by Kastamonu University to provide scientific contributions to the city's social, cultural, and economic development, has been published. In the report titled "The Past, Present, and Future of Kastamonu's Local Press," prepared by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Çakır, a faculty member of the Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Communication, while the deep-rooted local press tradition of Kastamonu was generally evaluated, the study focused on the digital transformation of local media. 

The main focus of the study is not the detailed examination of the history of the Kastamonu press, but rather the transformation undergone by the local media. In the report, which addresses historical development within a general framework, the effects of digitalization on news production and distribution processes, the visibility of local media on social media platforms, changing reader habits, current issues, and policy recommendations for the future are emphasized. 

The digital transformation of local media was examined

In the first section of the report, the institutional framework encompassing the legal, economic, and organizational structure of the press was addressed. In the second section, the social role of the local press and its development process in Türkiye were evaluated. In the third section, the historical accumulation of the local press in Kastamonu, spanning from the Ottoman Period to the Republic Period, was broadly outlined, and its transformation during the digitalization process was examined. The study evaluated the effects of digital transformation across political news, culture, art and sports news, the economy, and tourism journalism. The study focused on the visibility of local media on digital platforms, content production methods, and the adaptation process to changing reader habits.

The stakeholders' opinions were reflected in the report

Within the scope of the study, which is supported by field research and stakeholder interviews, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 academics from the Faculty of Communication at Kastamonu University, 20 undergraduate and graduate students, and three content creators who reach large audiences on social media platforms. In the interviews, the participants' habits of following local media, their trust in the news, their expectations of local media, their content production processes, their evaluations of the digital transformation, and their views on the future of local media were discussed. The findings showed that the local press in Kastamonu has a strong historical legacy and the capacity to create social memory. Economic sustainability, the need for qualified personnel, the inadequacy of digital revenue models, access to younger generations, and the accuracy and timeliness of news were identified as areas that need improvement.

Suggestions for the future of local media were presented

In the conclusion section of the report, policy recommendations in the fields of economy, education, content, and technology were included to strengthen the sustainability of the local press in Kastamonu.

Encouraging local advertisements, developing the official announcement system to include digital publishing, and popularizing digital subscription models were among the main recommendations regarding the economic structure.

Increasing collaborations between the Faculty of Communication at Kastamonu University and local media organizations, involving students in news and content production processes, and organizing media ethics and digital literacy training were also listed as recommendations for academic and professional development. The report also suggested developing thematic journalism in areas such as tourism, local economy, and geographically indicated products; making cultural heritage elements more visible in media content; establishing a common digital media platform; and digitizing historical press archives.

"The local press is shaping the city's memory"

 Our Rector, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Topal, stated, "With the Kastamonu Reports Series, we aim to present the potential of our province in various fields, the issues it faces, and the proposed solutions to these problems from a scientific perspective. The local press is one of the basic elements that shape a city's memory, support social solidarity, and contribute to the preservation of local identity. "

Our Rector, noting that Kastamonu has one of Türkiye’s long-standing local press traditions, emphasized the importance of strengthening local media in the digital transformation process to access accurate and reliable information and to transmit the city's cultural heritage to future generations.