Last year’s State of Local News Report featured a dozen “Bright Spots.” For our second edition of this Local News Initiative project, we highlighted 12 media outlets around the country that are building sustainable models by providing original reporting on their communities while they experiment with news collaborations, digital subscription offers, and other efforts to diversify revenue and engage audiences. In just a few examples, we checked in on the Salt Lake Tribune’s transition from for-profit newspaper to digital-first nonprofit, reported on Georges Media opening another Advocate newspaper in Louisiana, profiled the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s renewed focus on local news and tracked Conecta Arizona’s growth from a WhatsApp channel to full-fledged news outlet. (For more inspiration, see our 2023 Bright Spots.)
We want to share more success stories in our annual report later this year, and we’re asking for your input.
Please tell us about a local news outlet that stands out to you and why. Have you noticed outlets expanding into new markets, focusing on diversity or adding local content? Are they innovating in ways to transition readers from print to digital news or perhaps offering print editions for free? (Many places are!) How about distributing or receiving information via text or other nontraditional platforms? Eschewing a paywall? Collaborating with other news outlets or community groups?
Tell us about the outlet engaging readers in your community. We’ll contact news organizations and learn about their practices so we can tell readers about methods that are succeeding in today’s journalism climate. With your help, we expect to profile more local news outlets across the nation.
Send us your nominations here.
Thank you!
