Local news refers to a wide range of media — newspapers, radio, TV and hyperlocal websites — that cover a specific geographic community. These outlets provide important information about what’s happening in a community, serve as watchdogs on government actions and decisions at the local level, and play an essential role in fostering civic engagement.
In addition, many of these outlets are engaged in innovative partnerships and collaborations that help build a more resilient local news ecosystem. Nonprofit news organizations are raising philanthropic capital as one pillar of a robust and diversified revenue strategy that includes advertising, sponsorships, events and memberships.
These stories highlight strategies that can help local journalism survive and thrive, including leveraging resources from a larger newsroom to tell complex and in-depth stories over an extended time frame, partnering with multiple stakeholders and reporting partners, and using Hearken for citizen engagement. They also illustrate how a commitment to community-driven journalism can lead to a sustainable business model that builds trust in the news and connects with communities in ways that can counteract widespread distrust of national and network media.
In the small town of Eudora, Kansas, when a local newspaper closed in 2021, leaving the town without a media source within a 15-mile radius, a group of University of Kansas journalism students stepped in to fill the void. The Eudora Times, launched in 2019, has become the primary source of local news for the town, covering government, business, sports and education beats.
About the Author
