In this episode of E&P Reports, we go behind the scenes of the Local News Crisis event held in Detroit on July 22, 2025. The first-of-its-kind gathering brought together more than 250 media professionals, civic leaders, philanthropists and academics to confront the growing collapse of local journalism.
To unpack what happened — and what’s next, we interviewed some key people who helped coordinate the event as well as participated in the program: Catherine Badalamente (CEO, Graham Media Group), Tim Franklin (senior associate dean, Medill School of Journalism), Rich Homberg (president & CEO, Detroit PBS), Liz White (co-CEO, Local Media Association), and Hiram Jackson (CEO, Real Times Media).
From the urgency of the crisis to the call for national collaboration, the conversation highlights not only why Detroit served as a powerful starting point — but also how other cities might follow.
Understanding a slow-moving disaster
Tim Franklin, senior associate dean at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, explained the subtle but relentless nature of the crisis. “The crisis in local news — there’s no epiphany moment. It’s not like a natural weather disaster or a war… It’s a slow, grinding diminution of local news that happens in communities and counties all over the country that people aren’t aware of.”
Franklin pointed to recent studies showing a deep disconnect between perception and reality. “Last year, Pew did a study that showed that two-thirds of Americans think that local news is doing just fine financially… 71% of respondents thought — or think — that local news is doing just fine financially.” The summit, he said, aimed to raise visibility so that “policymakers, companies and philanthropists are aware of the problem and potentially of ways to address it.”
Why Detroit, and why now
Detroit was chosen as the summit’s launchpad for a reason. “Detroit is a show-up town. It’s a ‘do you know me’ town. It’s a ‘do you see me’ town,” said Rich Homberg, president and CEO of Detroit PBS. “You’ve got the great Graham Media folks, you’ve got local ownership with Hiram and everything going on at Real Times Media… Something is going on in this town citywide, but there’s also something going on in the media community.”
Homberg emphasized that this wasn’t a siloed event. “We had the right connections — all of us — reaching out to folks we needed at the table… government types, corporate types, nonprofit types.
Collaboration is no longer optional
One of the event’s central themes was that future sustainability hinges on deep collaboration. “None of this is possible without collaboration." said Catherine Badalamente, CEO of Graham Media Group. "We’ve spent many decades competing. Now, we’re talking about how important the information is that we all work so hard to provide to our communities. We need to differentiate between information that people can get on any platform today and what we provide — which is trusted, verified local news and information.”
She added that this effort requires more than media alignment. “We need to show a unified front… and work towards policy changes… and why what we do is so important to the local communities that we serve. For Hiram Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media, collaboration wasn’t just theoretical — it was personal. “Catherine… knew that we had a wonderful, credible platform in Michigan with the Michigan Chronicle. She’s got a lot of eyeballs… We’ve launched a very successful partnership to penetrate the community here in Detroit with big public policy ideas.”
Jackson pointed out that these relationships are rooted in long-term efforts. “Rich, twenty years ago, helped me launch an event called Pancakes and Politics. He was at CBS Radio at the time… and basically lent his platform to us.”
What local news must do now
The event’s goal was not just to spotlight the problem but to surface actionable solutions. “There was a lot of discussion about having events that show the personality and the work being done at these local news organizations,” Franklin explained. “And the other thing is just to be hyper-focused on relevance… It’s also being relevant in people’s daily lives. So, it’s things like high school sports… the importance of local weather… and staying connected to what's happening.”
Building a blueprint for other states
For Liz White, co-CEO of the Local Media Association (LMA), this summit is just the beginning. “We had over 30 passionate leaders involved… and we also had Steve Waldman of Rebuild Local News… Knight Foundation and Press Forward joined the effort,” she said.
White emphasized that collaboration extended across sectors. “From an LMA perspective, our mission is focused on working with local media companies to reinvent business models for news. But we also know that’s only one of many pillars… That’s why having this combination — philanthropy, business support, academia and media leaders — was so important.”
Looking ahead, LMA is preparing to take the summit model nationwide. “We’re working on a playbook so that we can try to bring this to other states… Now we’re looking for funding partners to expand… and hire more resources to do this work.”
Advice for other cities
When asked what other cities can learn from Detroit’s success, Homberg was clear: “Be relentless — because none of this is easy. You’re going to try things that work, and some that don’t. But… how do we work together? And how do we serve our city together?”
White concluded with a hopeful charge: “We really encourage everyone to watch the recording and the event highlights… We’d love to hear from people in states with leadership who are ready to collaborate and implement this elsewhere.”
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