We may be tethered to global networks, streaming content from around the planet, and joining in conversation (or conspiracy) with folks from all corners of the earth, but we also live in places with local characters and concerns, among people with local needs and contributions. Historically, local media — city newspapers and broadcasters, bulletin boards and billboards, place-based music scenes and book clubs, town criers and neighborhood gossips — have informed and bound our communities. Yet in recent decades, amidst globalization, digitization, corporate consolidation, and privatization, our traditional local venues have either been subsumed into international conglomerates or disappeared altogether.

In the spring of 2024, student in a “Local Media” class at the University of Pennsylvania assessed the important roles served by place-based media, as well as what’s lost when local modes of communication collapse. They asked: what values are inherent in the newsletters, radio shows, and libraries created, distributed, preserved, and consumed within the local realm, speaking to local concerns, and made accessible to local publics? What’s lost when those sites and systems are threatened? At the same time, what might be gained if what constitutes local media is considered with more generously? What if we imagine how these alternate media sites might be redesigned to better serve our communities, our broader society, and our planet?

The result of their research and discussions culminates in Volume 01 of the Philadelphia Local Media Field Guide. Through essays, observation, analysis and speculation, the field guide guides others through attending more closely to their local media landscapes. While focused on Philadelphia, the approach—especially tied to guided learning in the classroom—carries lessons for educators, students, and scholars concerned about the shifts that have occurred in our local communication ecosystems. 

Essays include: "Protecting Philadelphia's Archaeology: The Philadelphia Archaeological Forum,"; "A Field Guide to Media in Nonprofit Spaces: Building Community"; "Community Fridge Networks"; "Posters as Protest"; 'Event Flyers of Philadelphia"; "The Social Ecology of Urban Stickers"; "Virtually Out and About: Nextdoor"; "A Journey Through Woodard's Barbershop: The Cultural Significance of Black Barbering in Philadelphia"; "Local Media in the Beauty Scene"; and "Critical Media Incubators: Local Philadelphia Coffee Shops."

By Shannon Mattern, Kaitlynn Gilmore, Isabelle Kowal, Shannon DiFulgio, Lorelle Adames, Liana Kaye-Lew, Adeline Brown, Anna Campbell, Danny Jabarek, Lori Ko, Madison Gordon, MaTaeya McFadden, and Gerardo Ramirez.

Designed by Elaine Lopez

Published in 2024 in a limited edition of 100 copies

Softcover with yellow spiral binding, 185 pages, full color images, 6.5 × 9 inches