#4: Reimagining Urban Journalism

with Stephan Fugger, Regionalmedia Carinthia

Klagenfurt, Austria

This episode of Cities Reimagined takes us very locally. It takes us deep, deep down into a damp, smelly basement (no joke) of the city I was born in, #Klagenfurt, Austria to explore the role of local journalism for reimagining futures together with Stephan Fugger, an editor for the local RegionalMedien Austria in Carinthia, Austria.

Stephan increasingly covers aspects related to soil sealing and climate change in Klagenfurt in Southern Austria so it was time to talk to him about where he sees his work's role in breaking down global trends (and complexities) to the everyday life of people.

Stephan and I talked about:

🎛️ Why the basement we recorded the interview in is an artefact of changing youth cultures

💥 The challenge for politicians and public administrations to transparently communicate complex topics in everyday life's language

🔭 Shifting interests of readers towards local effects of climate change

🤬 Positive Anger

🚘 Why taking pictures of politicians without cars in the background is difficult in Klagenfurt

🎶 The soundtrack to change the world; and for going on gloomy walks in Klagenfurt in the foggy season (November to February).

There is currently more and more media coverage on climate and biodiversity crises related to anthropogenic topics in the media. However, a lot of the reporting on, for example, climate change scenarios and how far the atmosphere will continue to warm if greenhouse gas emissions are not cut drastically are difficult for many people to grasp. It seems to be abstract and oftentimes unrelatable to the everyday life of many.

Studies show that highlighting the local impacts of climate change is motivational for behaviour change and action. On the other side, when people perceive the effects of global crises as distant, as taking place somewhere else, on the other side of the planet they may feel powerless and disengaged.

For that reason, news media can play an important role by shedding light on stories in a manner that emphasises local perspectives alongside the global scale.

Links:

Regionalmedien Kärnten: https://www.meinbezirk.at/klagenfurt/

Boysclub on Bandcamp: https://boysclubrocks.bandcamp.com

Der Schwarze Schwarm on Bandcamp: https://derschwarzeschwarm.bandcamp.com

Photo by Peter Schaflechner.

This episode of Cities Reimagined was published in October 2023.