Gratis maar van grote waarde Een inhoudsanalyse van huis-aan-huisbladen in Nederland

Local journalism is in dire straits and the Netherlands is no exception. While financial and organizational challenges are well documented, less is known about the actual content that media offer on the most local level. This study offers a content analysis of ‘small market papers’ that are freely distributed door-to-door, the so-called huis-aan-huisbladen. In addition, we examine the contingency of content on (a) type of distribution area and (b) circulation number. A random sample of 137 papers was manually analyzed, adding up to a total of 3585 pages and 13,833 items. Results show that the share of journalistic content is low, with only 10 percent of all items qualifying as news. Advertisements and announcements of local events are the most prominent content categories. We conclude that these papers do have democratic value, but not so much as watchdogs of local politics but as drivers of connectedness with the local community.