A study on digitalization in the local press: The case of Bolu

Local press are media organizations that prepare content with a certain broadcast interval such as instant, daily, weekly, monthly in order to inform the public in a certain district, province or region. The main purpose of the local press is to inform the people of the region by preparing news content in the geography within the broadcast area. The local press is increasing its influence with the effect of digitalization, which provides the opportunity to create alternative channels by updating itself day by day. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the effect of digitalization in the local press. In order to deal with the issue with a holistic approach, first of all, the history of the press was mentioned; The definition of local press is also included, aiming to see the way the press has taken in the process. The effect of digitalization on the local press has been mentioned with the content analyzes made in the new media channels of the newspapers, which are considered as samples. On the other hand, it was aimed to analyze the dynamics of Bolu local press through the interviews with the representatives of the newspapers participating in the research. As a result of the study, it has been concluded that the local press of Bolu is more active, qualified and polyphonic compared to the local press of other cities with similar qualities and has the effects of forming public opinion on any subject. In addition, there is an effective and active use in terms of website journalism in terms of using digitalization opportunities. Local media organizations actively use new media channels; evaluate the advantages of social media.