ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the many avatars of the English-language local newspaper in Chennai, an expanding metro with a long-established print media tradition in both English and the regional language of Tamil. It attempts to understand the role of the hyperlocal newspaper in the 21st century as an enabler and influencer of a local public sphere, including its role in shaping regional politics and political discourse. The chapter examines the nature of the reader's relationship with the many variants of the local and hyperlocal newspaper, the organisational influences on mainstream media in their publishing and distribution of local news, including local supplements, the nature and scope of hyperlocal English-language offerings and the impact of the political economy of the news media on the English-language local newspaper ecosystem.
