You can track local news in AIDular by writing a prompt that names your city, the topics you care about, and the sources you trust. AIDular then searches the web on your chosen schedule and emails you a clean, sourced report.
Most people only hear about things happening in their city by accident, through a friend or a random social media post. By the time you find out, it's too late to act. A well-written AIDular prompt fixes that.
Why Local News Is Tricky to Track
Local news is scattered. Some of it is on local newspaper sites. Some is on council websites. Some is on neighborhood Facebook groups or Reddit threads. No single feed covers all of it.
That's exactly why a prompt-based approach works better than following one outlet. AIDular casts a wide net across the web for you.
Step 1: Name Your Location Precisely
Vague location words give vague results. Be specific.
- Too vague: "news near me"
- Better: "news in Austin, Texas"
- Even better: "news in East Austin, Texas"
The more specific you are, the more useful your report will be.
Step 2: Pick the Topics You Actually Care About
Think about what matters to you day to day. Some common examples:
- Road closures or construction
- Planning applications and new buildings
- Local government decisions (council votes, budgets)
- Crime and safety updates
- Community events and markets
- School announcements
- Local business openings and closures
Pick two or three topics per prompt. If you load one prompt with ten topics, the report gets messy.
Step 3: Write Your Prompt
Here is a copy-paste example you can use as a starting point:
Track news in Bristol, UK about: new planning applications and building projects, local council decisions, and road closures or transport changes. Focus on the BS1, BS2, and BS3 postcode areas. Use local news sources like Bristol Live and Bristol City Council announcements.
Notice what this prompt does:
- Names the city and the specific areas inside it
- Lists three clear topics
- Tells AIDular which types of sources to prefer
You do not need to be a technical person to write this. Plain English is exactly what AIDular needs.
Step 4: Choose Your Schedule
For local news, a daily schedule makes sense if you want to catch things fast, like road closures before your morning commute. A weekly schedule works well for slower-moving topics like planning applications or council meeting outcomes. Monthly is rarely the right choice for local news, since stories move fast and go stale.
A good rule: if missing it for a few days would bother you, go daily. If you just want a weekly digest to stay generally informed, go weekly.
Step 5: Add Recipients
You can send the report to yourself, but you can also add a family member, a flatmate, or anyone else who lives in the same area. If you and your partner both care about what's happening in your neighborhood, just add both email addresses when you set up the tracker.
Step 6: Read the Report Efficiently
When your report arrives, scan the headlines and source links first. AIDular includes sources so you can click through to the full story when something catches your eye. You do not need to read every word. Treat it like a personal briefing, not a homework assignment.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Too broad: "local news" with no city name gives almost useless results.
- Too many topics in one prompt: split them into two separate trackers if needed.
- Wrong schedule: a monthly local news report is usually out of date before it lands.
You can set this up for free at aidular.com. The Lite plan lets you run scheduled trackers at no cost, so there's no reason not to try it. Write your first local news prompt today, and tomorrow morning it could already be in your inbox.