Abstract
This study is an examination of the impacts of local newspapers on the social, political and economic development of rural communities in Oyo State, Nigeria. A focused ethnographic design was used, and the data was collected over a period of 12 weeks in Awe, Igboora, and Saki through participant observation, 98 interviews, 9 Focus Group Discussions, and document analysis. Based on Development Media Theory and Social Responsibility Theory, it was found out that local newspapers serve as the community ‘‘town crier’’ by disseminating health, education, and project information. Politically, the papers are used to promote participation, accountability and voter education by checking and balancing government promises and local issues. Economically, they support SMEs through advertising and provide market prices information that guides trade. It was also discovered that poor funding and low advertising revenue are banes to sustaining them. The study is anchored on the Development Media Theory and Social Responsibility Theory. The methodology used is a focused ethnography. The study, in conclusion, stated that local newspapers are viable and vital tools for developing rural communities in Oyo State. The study therefore recommended that government patronage, NGO partnerships, and community support will go a long way to sustaining the roles of local newspapers in grassroots development.
Keywords: Local Newspapers, Rural development, Ethnography, Development Media, Oyo State.
Author Name(s):
Festus Kolawole Eweniyi
(PhD student, Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria)
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23142828
Copyright © [2026] The Author(s). Published by the Journal of People and Worldviews (JPW). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited.