Public media cuts, increased collaboration and the importance of local sports headlined a panel at a Local Media Association’s summit in Detroit on Wednesday aimed at raising the visibility of the challenges facing local news, potential solutions and its impact on communities.
Over the last two decades, Michigan has lost about 40% of its newspapers, well above the national average of about 33%, according to Medill’s State of Local News Report. The event aimed to shine a light on how the loss of local news has impacted communities in the state.
The panel was moderated by Chuck Todd, the former “Meet the Press” anchor who left NBC earlier this year, and featured Catherine Badalamente, CEO of Graham Media Group; Hiram Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media and Publisher of the Michigan Chronicle; Nicole Avery Nichols, executive editor of The Detroit Free Press; and Wendy Turner, executive director and general manager, Michigan Public.
Todd has expressed strong interest in the local news landscape since leaving the network in January.
“National news is not going to earn its trust back, until local news — the foundation of the information ecosystem — is rebuilt,” he said during his opening remarks.
The conversation touched on a variety of topics, including the overall trajectory of the local news industry, the increased collaboration between news organizations and the business side of the industry.
“For me, personally, I think the pandemic and facing a global health crisis in an industry that’s shrinking sort of clarified our need and commitment to community,” Nichols said. “At the Free Press, it really became about how do we deliver this really important information to our communities at a time of need? All of us — Michigan Radio, Bridge Detroit, Outlier Media, etc. — we had to really have that conversation with each other and rely on each other and work together in Michigan as a team. It wasn’t about who’s going to be the last news organization standing; it was really about how do we help our communities and be of service.”
Later, Turner explained the impact of Congress’ rescission of funding for public media, following last week’s passage of cuts.
“We’re going to lose about 6% of our budget. We have prided ourselves in expanding our journalism, in part, I think in public media we have wanted to be part of the solution because our stations reach these rural areas to be able to fill the gap,” she said. “At Michigan Public, we’re going to have to create deeper partnerships with our colleagues. … We want to reach more people and be more of service to a greater range of where those news deserts are.”
And, with increasing conversations about creator-model journalists, Todd asked Turner about the way she views Michigan Public incorporating that approach into her organization’s coverage.
“As brands become less and less trusted, we know that people trust people, and we already have people who are trusted to be in the cars and homes of our community; maybe there are ways we can lean further into that and participate in more community events,” she said. “An ethical influencer.”
In an interview with Medill in June, Todd emphasized how he believes local sports can help save the local news crisis. Badalamente emphasized this as a key focus of Graham Media Group.
“We’re talking about us being able to have a relationship with the community in a way that is at the heart of their passion, their children, what’s happening,” Badalamente said. “It’s an underserved area right now, and it’s a place where we can actually compete, and we’re not going to have competition coming from a national level.”
The event, put together in partnership with the Medill School of Journalism, Michigan State University’s School of Journalism, Rebuild Local News, the Knight Foundation, Detroit PBS, Real Times Media, Graham Media Group, Gannett, Michigan Press Association, Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Press Forward, MLive and Crain’s Detroit Business, included about 250 political, business, philanthropic, media and community leaders from Michigan and around the country.
