The buzz was electric as over 200 media executives packed into the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago on Aug. 2, eager to hear insights on the future of local news from industry leaders at the opening keynote of LMA Fest. Moderator Tracy Brown of WBEZ/Chicago Public Media welcomed a star-studded panel featuring Catherine Badalamente, CEO of Graham Media Group, Mike Reed, CEO of Gannett, and Evan Smith, senior advisor at Emerson Collective and former CEO of The Texas Tribune.
E&P spoke with engagement editors this summer to hear firsthand about their career paths, how closely they work with newsrooms today and their thoughts on how the quality of the content is vital to engagement. Learn from the engagement editors at The Star Tribune in Minneapolis, The Marshall Project and the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The International Center for Journalists empowers journalists to follow the money behind disinformation in the Americas. ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi says it is critical to expose the sources of disinformation and find who is funding the intentional dissemination of false information.
Despite widespread attacks on those principles and fundamental changes to the news industry, 77% of U.S. journalists responding to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey said they “would pursue a career in journalism again,” 75% “are extremely or very proud of their work” and 70% ”are very or somewhat satisfied with their job.” Conversely, the surveyed journalists were not blind to the turmoil in their industry.
The people of Aberdeen, South Dakota, were not about to allow their town to become a news desert. The local newspaper of many years, The American News, was withering on the vine. Contractions, layoffs and buyouts had reduced the staff to one reporter. Troy McQuillen, publisher of the Aberdeen Magazine, launched The Aberdeen Insider and feedback from the community has been very positive.
Four of the 16 Pulitzer Prizes in journalism were awarded to local news outlets this year. Marjorie Miller, administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, says local media outlets seem to be focusing their resources on stories their audiences cannot get elsewhere instead of attempting to replicate stories from national news outlets and wire services. Among the winners was Anna Wolfe of Mississippi Today.
Browse news media job boards, and you’ll find opportunities for data specialists and other newsroom roles now requiring experience working with data. In mid-June, E&P spoke with Samantha Sunne about data journalism and the book “Data + Journalism: A Story-Driven Approach to Learning Data Reporting.” Sunne co-authored the book with Mike Reilley, who teaches data and digital journalism at the University of Illinois in Chicago and founded JournalistsToolbox.org.
Typically, a university newspaper is the learning laboratory for the institution’s journalism school. Harvard University doesn’t have a school of journalism, but it does have The Harvard Crimson, one of the oldest and most-respected student newspapers. It operates both financially and editorially independent from the university and has a long tradition of serving the university family as well as Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts.
Every year, the small town of Keene, New Hampshire, transforms its downtown into an event space for the Radically Rural Summit, an annual event for community-minded people to share how they solve problems in their towns. This year’s theme is Reimagining Rural and will include events focused on communication, connection and philanthropy.
Merchandising has become a valued revenue stream for many newspapers and news outlets to generate new subscriptions, increase awareness of their quality journalism, promote community identity and boost the bottom line to expand newsrooms and coverage. Although the purpose of merchandising promotions is extra revenue, they are also often fun — for the community and newsrooms.
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