Students on the beat

The old formula went like this: Journalism undergrads would learn in classes and maybe work on the school paper and then get professional experience via internships or summer jobs at news outlets.

But with the local news industry reeling, this dynamic has flipped. Instead of news organizations giving boosts to students, students are supporting often-short-staffed outlets by providing coverage as part of their curricula. This shift is happening as an expanding network of universities step up to offer students real-world journalism experience while creating what they hope will be a viable business model to fill local news gaps in communities that lack robust reporting.

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