A changing model
Some industry experts say the existing business model for journalism is broken and are urging journalists to embrace a new system.
Former mainstream journalist Nick Booth, editor Dan Mason and journalism lecturer Alex Lockwood say the journalism industry needs to embrace social media and citizen journalism as sources for news.
They say the journalistic process is a community service and encourage society to get involved with generating and creating local journalism.
The Hudson River plane crash - citizen journalism in actionMr Mason said: "we only earn the right to call ourselves journalists when we can demonstrate we make a positive difference to the communities we serve and we use journalistic tools to effect that positive change."
Community media
Mr Lockwood believes local newspapers should encourage communities to get involved in local news and investigation process. The "community media model is a way forward," he says but "it will not work everywhere."
There are signs that regional newspapers are adapting and encouraging readers to get involved. Thisisgloucestershire.co.uk allowed readers to follow election results in the 2009 European elections. Readers could use the website to give reaction as results filtered through.
The Bournemouth Daily Echo has used it's website to enable readers to question local MP's and police in online public debates.
Mr Mason says he sees journalism as facilitating a conversation between different sections of the community - something, he believes, newspapers are not capable of doing as efficiently as the web.
"Actually, we can build power again from a different stand point. We [regional media] can play a powerful role in democracy."