Local News & Information

A working-class-focused media could be supported by the dozens of media-oriented philanthropies and local news initiatives funded by taxpayers, like the recent ones in New Jersey and California, as well as independent media cooperatives—people pooling resources to create real alternatives to corporate media. As Pickard has written, public funding... See more

The death of the obituary matters because local features can be an antidote to the trends of polarization and demonization. Cable news dehumanizes. Community news can rehumanize.

UW Madison professor of journalism, Sue Robinson, recently publishedHow Journalists Engage: A Theory of Trust Building, Identities, and Care . In it, she names the new roles and skill sets that those working in journalism need to invest in so that information can be used and trusted. They include:

• Relationship Builder


• Community Collaborator


• Community

... See more

Often that expansion is accelerated by regional advertisers, acquisitions of smaller newsletters, or local economic development groups that actively recruit 6AM City to launch in their communities.

Historically, the company focused on mid-tier cities — places with strong civic pride but limited competition — rather than media-saturated metros like... See more

Just as important, they wanted information that was directly relevant to their lives and reflective of their communities. They were not interested in paying for a bundle of content that felt distant from their daily concerns. If local news is to earn financial support, it must first demonstrate local value.

In short, they wanted consistent, reliable... See more

Ken Doctor’s media brand Lookout in Santa Cruz and Eugene, Oregon uses AI to automate the assembly of hyperlocal neighborhood newsletters from public data sources like permits, roadwork, inspections, crime reports, weather, and events. But Lookout is more than a local news outlet. It is a platform for solving local problems together with the... See more

Perhaps this partly helps explain the sense of anger often seen among rural Americas. They have less local news — and don’t see themselves in their own media. Only 41% of those in rural areas said the local media mostly covered their communities; by contrast, 62% of urbanites said the local news had them covered. It’s likely that the decline of... See more

"The large metro dailies covered a broad geographic region," Dougherty told me. "That was their strength and then their downfall. They may not cover the town unless the shit hits the fan, but they don't inform people of what it feels like to live there."

To say that Americans pay for civic participation and not news is to say that they care about paying for membership in a community, not digital content.