Local News & Information

"Our work is the most valuable where we're creating a discourse that isn't just informing people, but actually getting them involved with the creation of good information — because they value good information themselves and are part of a community that values that," he said.

But let’s go one step further than drawing charts. If we believe that extreme proximity is the ONLY financially viable direction forward—and let’s be clear, that conversion rate demands it—we have to change how we treat hyperlocal newsrooms. We need to stop treating them like “passion projects” operated by burnt-out freelancers. We need to start... See more

What would that media look like? It would be one where economic reporters are embedded in blue-collar communities and neighborhoods rather than financial districts, and source networks built around people with direct experience instead of outside analysts. Centering inflation coverage around wage stagnation rather than the stock market and written... See more

Let’s remind ourselves: Journalism isn’t just writing articles.

Let’s put humans front and center — the readers we serve, engaging them more deeply, inviting them closer. We need strong bonds, community, events. We need to do what AI platforms aren’t interested in, because it doesn’t scale, it’s not safe, it’s not predictable.

While Americans in polls report historically low levels of trust in the media, it could be in large part because much of the press hasn’t been speaking to the concerns of their everyday lives. It would mean incorporating the knowledge and skills of reporters like Heather Bryant, who grew up in rural Missouri, where her lower-income family would buy... See more

Regional differences in culture, resources, and context make it difficult to design AI systems that address locally specific concerns (Hsu et al., 2022). The hyperlocal knowledge and values that define a community are hard for nonlocals, such as Report for America-style outsider journalists, to understand (Wenzel et al., 2020). Even when trying to... See more

Fast-forward to the near future: AI has the potential to change the fundamentals of local news. In 2026, the news organizations that thrive will stop thinking of themselves as publishers and start operating as community information utilities. They won’t just report on the school board meeting. They will show you when it happens, let you search past... See more