trends |
Going Underground What local newsrooms can learn from informal news networks
Over the course of human history, write Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in “The Elements of Journalism,” the spread of news and information was quite ...
Podcast |
Steve Grove on AI, Building Trust and Reinventing the Minnesota Star Tribune Introducing the Medill State of Local News Podcast with Tim Franklin
In the inaugural episode of the Medill State of Local News Podcast, host Tim Franklin—Professor, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, and founding director ...
news |
Researchers document AI firms' pilfering of news sites
If they were stealing jewels or pirating movies, AI companies might be prosecuted. But they face few consequences for ripping off news publishers, using copyrighted ...
news |
Medill awards funding to Chicago local media organizations The Bigs takes home a $10,000 first-place prize
Terrence Tomlin and Eugene McIntosh didn’t expect to walk away from a week at Medill’s Media Innovation and Leadership Academy (MILA) with a check for ...
news |
Big donors get blinkered view of local journalism crisis
A new report, commissioned by funders of local news, offers provocative suggestions for saving the industry. It includes some sharp observations. They should be valuable ...
news |
Chicago-area publications join Arizona State’s NEWSWELL Growing Community Media donates its four publications, seeks long-term sustainability
Last summer, interim executive director Max Reinsdorf knew Growing Community Media (GCM) needed to find a more sustainable path forward. The financials simply weren’t adding ...
news |
Other states making progress on saving local journalism
New Mexico is poised to become the latest state to save local newsroom jobs through policies approved by its Legislature. The Land of Enchantment offers ...
trends |
All in on high school sports At the Minnesota Star Tribune, an investment decades in the making takes shape
There’s no shortage of reasons why Chris Carr loves high school sports — the community, the joy and the camaraderie, among them. For 25 years, ...
research |
The Media Ecosystem Chicago A deep dive into the Windy City’s innovative and expansive media landscape
This text was adapted from our report on the Chicago Media Ecosystem. Download a full PDF version of the report. In early 2025, Project C, ...
research |
With no local news, those in news deserts turn to social media feeds, influencers and gossip Medill Local News Initiative survey shows America’s fraying relationship to reliable information.
Roughly half of people in news deserts relied on non-journalistic sources, not news organizations More than 200 news desert counties in the U.S. predominantly located ...
news |
Alden Global Capital makes push to buy Daily Herald in Chicago suburbs Full-page ad argues investment firm will pay the highest price
Alden Global Capital, the private equity fund that owns the Chicago Tribune and more than 160 other newspapers across the United States, wants to add ...
news |
Washington newspapers saved at last minute, ‘a small miracle’
It took a few weeks but a Christmas miracle is coming true near the Canadian border, in Washington’s Whatcom County. The Northern Light, a weekly ...
Q&A |
Los Angeles’ local news experiment New startup looks to combine old-school and new-school journalism
On Sunday, L.A. Reported launched as the latest startup in the country’s second-largest city. The organization was founded by Scott Woolley, formerly Forbes’ West Coast bureau ...
news |
Pittsburgh’s next steps How the Post-Gazette’s closure could impact the local media landscape
In May, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — founded three years before George Washington became the first president of the United States — will cease operations. The ...
news |
Newspaper family saves Oregon paper
Saving local journalism isn’t always straightforward, as a turnabout in Oregon demonstrates. Two newspapers in Linn County just about failed after they were sold to ...
trends |
Turning Back the Clock At Newsday on Long Island, a nostalgia beat brings massive traffic
In another era, Long Islanders fell asleep hearing the frantic commercials for Crazy Eddie (“His prices are insane!”) and the dry humor from Coronet’s Furniture (“No talking ...
research |
Troubled local news outlets face a new risk: climate change New research identifies the U.S. communities facing the double jeopardy of climate disaster and a lack of news sources.
KCHU, the public radio station in Valdez, Alaska, is used to living on the edge. For two months, its AM transmitter leaned precariously over the ...
research |
When federal might meets local resistance Chicago is case study in using solutions journalism for rapid response coverage of ICE enforcement nationally
A palpable tension mixed with anticipation filled Chicago-area newsrooms this fall when journalists found themselves suddenly pressed into the service of covering the White House’s ...
trends |
Rapidly Expanding Local News Networks Nonprofit and for-profit news networks are expanding local news in places that need it
When Michael Shapiro started TAPinto, you couldn’t miss him around town. He was president of the Rotary Club, on the board of the chamber of ...
trends |
Email over algorithms: how newsrooms are reclaiming their audiences
It was big NBA news when the San Antonio Spurs signed a $229 million contract extension with star point guard De’Aaron Fox this summer. But ...