The news about local news has grown bleak, with an alarming number of communities worldwide losing their newspapers and the reliable information they provide.
In its recently published State of Local News 2022 Report, the Medill Local News Initiative found that two newspapers a week are shuttering in the U.S., creating ever-expanding news deserts. When legitimate news sources disappear, misinformation and disinformation campaigns often fill the vacuum, with dark implications for democratic societies.
But bright spots are emerging to offer new models for local news and new hope for those who believe in journalism’s future. In collaboration with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung USA foundation, Medill will spotlight such innovations in its “New in News: Four Case Studies of Innovative Models in Local News” webinar on July 26.
“The Medill Local News Initiative is showcasing four case studies of innovation in local news that hold promise for the future and could inspire others,” says Tim Franklin, director of the Medill Local News Initiative, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News and senior associate dean at Northwestern University. “These case studies include the leaders of local news organizations in big cities, Chicago and Detroit, and small markets, Richland, Ohio, and Southern Pines, N.C. They include the combination and collaboration of public radio and a legacy newspaper, an on-demand service journalism organization, a solutions-journalism-focused digital news outlet and a thriving, highly diversified small market news entity. They’ll be going in-depth on the business models and visions for their organizations and sharing lessons that could benefit the entire local news industry.”
The webinar will feature:
- Chicago Public Media Chief Content Officer Tracy Brown, Chicago Public Media CEO Matt Moog and Chicago Sun-Times CEO Nykia Wright discussing WBEZ’s recent acquisition of the Sun-Times to create a new template that merges a local public radio station with a heritage daily newspaper.
- Candice Fortman, executive director of Detroit’s Outlier Media, describing how her digital, interactive organization offers service journalism and promotes government accountability directly to readers through text messages as well as newsletters and online posts.
- Richland Source editor Larry Phillips explaining how his online community news organization has thrived by serving North Central Ohio with solutions-oriented journalism.
- David Woronoff, publisher of The Pilot in Southern Pines, N.C., chronicling how his 102-year-old small-town paper has diversified its business, including publishing lifestyle magazines and buying a local bookstore, to continue serving its community with robust journalism.
Franklin calls these efforts “signs of hope that new business models are emerging to sustain local journalism, which is critical to the health of our communities and our self-governed democracy.”
“New in News” will run July 26 from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Central Time. Register at https://medill.school/NewsinNewsWebinar to receive the Zoom link. Medill is grateful to the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung USA for supporting this event.
This panel session has happened. You can read about the discussions and watch the entire video on YouTube.
Article image by Felicia Buitenwerf used under Unsplash license (Unsplash)
