This article is adapted from one in the Chronicle of Philanthropy By Steven Waldman and Charles Sennott At a recent conference on local news, the veteran broadcaster Bob Schieffer praised the Texas Tribune — the acclaimed nonprofit website — but then added that it was just “a Band-Aid.” His reasoning: In the long run, real
By Will Wright INEZ, Kentucky — In this sleepy town in rural Martin County, in the heart of coal country, residents endured weeks without running water in the dead of winter, a local crisis that went largely unnoticed outside of the hills and hollers of this community. That is, until their plight was picked up
Excerpted from a Q&A in StreetFightMag One of our first journalists is Will Wright, a talented young man who is embedded in the newsroom of the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky. When he got to Eastern Kentucky, the paper had one reporter covering 24 counties in that part of the state. In his second week, he did a
Why do Americans trust libraries and the military but not the media? At the recent Knight Media Forum, Tony Marx, the CEO of the New York Public Library, had a compelling answer. “There is an image of them as selfless,” he said. “If you think they’re doing it only for themselves, it’s harder to trust them.” This
The application window for Report for America has closed, and we received a stunning 740 applications for nine slots. We’re thrilled that so many emerging journalists want to do a year or two of service working inside a local newsroom, reporting on critically under-covered topics or communities. As a point of reference, our first class
What we love most about Report for America model is the public service spirit. It will help restore the soul of journalism, not just the pocketbook. But in this piece I want to go full-wonk and explain it in entirely economic terms, to show how it potentially creates a new “business model” for local news. A
The crisis in local journalism – a.k.a. the crisis in local democracy, a.k.a. why you can’t find out if your water is polluted or your mayor is corrupt – begs for a dramatic response. Today, Report for America is issuing a call to service to emerging journalists to help provide that dramatic response. Report for
Pioneering public service program also opens application process for young journalists to serve in undercovered communities Contact: Michelle Hillman, mhillman@inkhouse.com NEW YORK, February 8, 2018 — Report for America today announced that nine news organizations have joined its national movement to strengthen democracy by improving the quality and quantity of local news. At the same time, Report for
By Steven Waldman and Charles Sennott It’s time to face facts. The existing commercial media model alone will not sustain journalism, especially local news. The business model is broken, and it will likely worsen, as ever more local businesses turn to social media and search. It’s also time to realize that the other crisis in