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It seems like there has been a concurrent growth in interest in national and global issues with the growth of the up to the minute global media infrastructure and the internet, with the interest in local issues diminishing at the same pace. The perpetual presidential campaign of the last 18 months being a case in point, while political races in towns across the country are almost completely forgotten, and the interest in hyperlocal issues treated almost as a dying hobby. What really causes this trend, and will it continue? How can new media help people engage with the local again?