Reading Local Press and Civic Engagement in Poland
The aim of the article is to answer the question, what instruments of communication used by local governments increase the participation of the society and what role the local press in this process plays. In recent years the research of mass media confirms the decline of readership of the press in general, and the circulation of the local also press falls. At the same time, civic activity at the local level is unsatisfactory. Despite the development of Internet and bilateral communication, citizens are not active participants in the dialogue with the authorities. The research carried out in 2016 on the local communities of the Slqskie Voivodship (a survey of 500 people) shows that it is true that people most often learn about the immediate environment from conversations with other residents and the Internet. However, people who are characterized by the highest activity in the local environment, consider the local press as the most important source of information. The results of the research may be useful for people responsible for designing of communication in local governments as well as for politicians who consider on the legitimacy of publishing local government press, which arouses numerous controversies in Poland. Undoubtedly, local communities need the local press, including the press of the local government. The average activity of those who consider the press to be the most important source of information is 2.8 and those who prefer conversations with other people - 2.5 (the dependence is statistically confirmed). However, it is necessary to ensure the quality of the local press, so that it is an interesting source of information not only for the most active citizens, but for wider groups of local communities.