ACM West 2025: Rebuilding Local Journalism Opportunities and New Coalitions

“Local news” constitutes the largest single sector of the news media in the United States. However, traditional local news sources (newspapers, commercial radio, and television stations) have declined rapidly during the past ten years. The hardest hit are newspapers, which have been the most reliable watchdogs of local government and public affairs. Many newspapers have quit publishing completely or have seriously reduced publishing schedules. Newspapers and commercial radio and television stations have reduced the number of their journalists and reporters. As the local journalism commercial model continues to collapse, public and nonprofit media institutions can serve as information safety nets. This workshop will address the loss of local news and how public media, nonprofit institutions, and community media centers (CMCs) can be used to address the lack of local journalism that now exists in hundreds of communities across the country. What are the best practices and lessons being learned? What sort of re-imagining work is happening, adopting new language, mindsets, practices, and partnerships between institutions like colleges, public radio stations and CMCs. Who’s providing funding support for these activities? This panel will take a deep dive into local news and how new coalitions and CMCs can play an important role in addressing the problem.