The Suisse Romande Local News Dataset

Abstract

This paper introduces a comprehensive dataset of news articles sourced from ESH Médias, a prominent local press agency in Romandy, the French-speaking region of Switzerland. The dataset encompasses all articles published on their digital platforms from January 2015 through June 2022. With over 130,000 articles written in French, this dataset offers a rich insight into local news from the French-speaking cantons of Switzerland. The articles cover a diverse range of topics and provide valuable material for Natural Language Processing and media studies. To respect privacy and legal considerations, journalists' names have been anonymized, and the dataset is made available for research purposes under a specific agreement with ESH Médias. The dataset adheres to the FAIR principles, and a detailed datasheet is provided to facilitate its use. The dataset is accessible via a DOI link.