“Zombie news: the strange resurrection of the local paper” – Will Dunn (New Statesman)

“It was not a real newspaper but a zombie – a piece of promotional material created for the local Conservative MP, Robert Largan, by a company in nearby Manchester. As such, it was just the latest example of how the local newspaper industry, which has been all but destroyed, is now being replaced. Freed from the oversight of local reporters and editors, businesses and politicians have begun to create their own information networks – they look like local news, but report only the things their owners want the public to see”

https://www.newstatesman.com/business/2023/11/zombie-news-the-strange-resurrection-of-the-local-paper