In this month’s column, Imtiaz Patel argues that The Washington Post’s challenges stem from strategic missteps, not inevitability. He points to successful peers that have grown by focusing on their core strengths. Patel believes The Post’s future lies in leveraging its unique position in Washington. The opportunity is to build a premium B2B intelligence business rooted in its journalism. more

As digital change accelerates, local publishers are searching for practical guidance to keep up. A new collaboration between the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the Local Media Consortium aims to meet that need with the News Media Help Desk — a centralized hub for tools, training and support. Backed by industry expertise, the initiative is designed to help newsrooms navigate transformation more effectively. The goal is to give publishers the clarity they need to grow in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. more

As concern over news deserts grows, the industry has responded with urgency — deploying reporters, building networks and funding new coverage models. But what if the problem isn’t just a lack of journalists, but a lack of connection to the communities being served? Alex Curley argues that many well-intentioned solutions risk missing the deeper challenge: trust, cultural understanding and local relevance. To truly rebuild local journalism, he suggests, the path forward may lie not in sending talent in — but in growing it from within. more

A new national training initiative is helping newsrooms rethink how they serve immigrant communities — by listening first and reporting second. Led by New York-based nonprofit Documented and supported by the Knight Foundation, the program trains outlets to embed community feedback directly into editorial and product decisions. Rather than building content for audiences, participating newsrooms are learning to co-create it with them. The goal: more relevant journalism, stronger trust and sustainable engagement with underserved communities. more

With voter interest surging and political tensions running high, the 2026 midterms are shaping up to test both the electorate — and the newsrooms covering them. Early indicators suggest unusually high engagement, setting the stage for intense races and heightened scrutiny of election coverage. For journalists, the challenge goes beyond reporting results, as disinformation, AI manipulation and safety concerns add new layers of complexity. In this environment, news organizations are preparing not just to cover an election, but to defend the integrity of the information voters rely on. more

When Ryan Blethen became publisher of The Seattle Times, he inherited not just a newsroom but a rare legacy — one of the last family-owned metropolitan papers in the country. In an industry reshaped by consolidation, that fifth-generation stewardship is both uncommon and intentional. Now, the challenge is proving that a mission-driven model can still thrive. more

As audiences and funding drift away from traditional broadcast models, Tom Davidson argues that the real challenge facing public media — and legacy outlets of every kind — is not survival, but reinvention. In this column, Davidson asks a provocative question: If you were building a mission-driven media organization from scratch today, would it even include a tower? Drawing on industry shifts, nonprofit news growth and the explosion of independent digital creators, he urges leaders to rethink what public service journalism looks like beyond legacy infrastructure. more

As attacks on the media intensify, E&P Publisher Mike Blinder argues that the real story isn’t the criticism; it’s the unintended amplification that follows. In his latest commentary, he draws a line from Barbra Streisand’s infamous attempt to suppress a photo to modern-day political pressure on late-night television. Blinder suggests that efforts to silence or discredit journalism often backfire, expanding reach and fueling curiosity. For news publishers, he writes, the lesson is clear: In today’s attention economy, the fastest way to make something matter may be to try to make it disappear. more

As public trust in media continues to erode, The Dallas Morning News is testing a different strategy: show up, listen and open the newsroom doors. In this report, Bob Miller explores how the paper’s trust initiative moves beyond surveys and slogans to hands-on engagement — from pop-up newsrooms in underserved neighborhoods to immersive media literacy workshops. Led by Managing Editor Amy Hollyfield, the effort aims to demystify journalism and reconnect reporters with the communities they cover. The results suggest that rebuilding credibility may require less explaining from afar — and more meeting readers face-to-face. more

Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist and author Jeff Kamen opens with an imagined newsroom beyond the grave — where the giants of American journalism are still watching. In this sharp satire, Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite and Don Hewitt confront what Kamen frames as a defining moment: the quiet unraveling of editorial courage at one of broadcast journalism’s most storied institutions. Through their fictional rebuke, he channels a very real anxiety echoing across newsrooms today — whether legacy media can withstand political pressure without losing the trust it once earned. more

As legacy newsrooms scale back specialized beats, a new nonprofit is stepping into one of journalism’s most dangerous and undercovered territories. In this report, Gretchen A. Peck examines how Decoherence Media is using data science, open-source intelligence and investigative reporting to track far-right extremism and anti-democratic movements. Founded by former Bellingcat data scientist Tristan Lee and researcher Jennefer Harper, the outlet aims to rebuild a watchdog beat many larger organizations have abandoned. Their work is not just about documenting ideology — it’s about exposing networks, preserving evidence and empowering other journalists to follow the trail. more

When the News Literacy Project surveyed American teens last fall, the results were sobering: 84% described news media as “biased,” “boring” or “bad.” In her latest report for E&P, Diane Sylvester unpacks what’s driving that skepticism — and why it may say as much about the broader information ecosystem as it does about young people themselves. From classroom gaps to social media overload, the findings reveal a generation struggling to distinguish journalism from everything else in their feeds. The question now facing the industry: can media literacy rebuild trust before that skepticism hardens into permanent disengagement? more

When longtime magazine editor Christopher Keyes lost his job in early 2025, he didn’t set out to start a nonprofit newsroom. But stepping away from a collapsing commercial media model gave him space to see a problem few news organizations were positioned to solve: America’s public lands — nearly a third of the country — were slipping through journalism’s cracks. Within months, that realization became Re:Public Lands Media, the first nonprofit newsroom dedicated exclusively to covering how public lands are managed, threatened and protected. more

Local news organizations across the country are searching for sustainable paths forward as traditional business models continue to erode. In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s oldest continuously published news organizations has chosen a decisive new direction. LNP/Lancaster Online is transitioning from a for-profit operation to a nonprofit newsroom, a move designed to protect its journalism, deepen community ties and secure long-term viability. The shift reflects a growing belief that local journalism’s future may depend as much on mission and philanthropy as on market forces. more

In this debut column, Stuart N. Brotman examines a troubling rise in censorship, retaliation and print bans targeting student newspapers at public universities, where First Amendment protections should be strongest. Drawing on recent cases from Indiana to Oklahoma, he details how administrative pressure is being used to silence rigorous campus reporting. Brotman argues that these actions undermine journalism education and weaken democratic norms at a critical moment. He concludes that stronger state-level protections are needed to ensure student journalists can report freely without fear of reprisal. more

Community publishers are often told they’re too small, too local or too fragile to survive in today’s media economy. Yet across the country, many are proving that scale isn’t the only path to sustainability — collaboration is. In this feature, Bob Miller looks inside the Association of Community Publishers (ACP), where small and mid-sized papers are pooling knowledge, cutting costs and strengthening revenue through shared expertise. The result is a model built less on competition and more on collective survival. more

Student journalists are increasingly on the front lines of a fight for press freedom. As professional local newsrooms shrink, student-run outlets are stepping in to serve campuses and surrounding communities — even as administrators impose new restrictions, retaliate against tough reporting, and limit access and distribution. From firings to funding threats, censorship pressures are rising nationwide. Still, student journalists are pushing back, determined to report the truth and serve the public. more

As audiences demand clearer answers about the economy and how their tax dollars are spent, local newsrooms face a growing accountability gap they often lack the resources to fill alone. In this feature, Bob Sillick examines how The Center Square has emerged as a trusted partner for more than 1,300 local media outlets by delivering free, fact-driven reporting on government and economic issues. Built around a taxpayer-first sensibility, the organization aims to strengthen public trust at a time of political and economic uncertainty. The result is a model that blends nonprofit mission, diversified revenue and investigative rigor to help local news better serve its communities. more

As public media grapples with funding cuts and audiences migrating to streaming, long-standing assumptions about the role of local stations are suddenly up for debate. In this month’s column, Tom Davidson poses an uncomfortable but necessary question: what happens if national public media brands decide they no longer need local affiliates to reach listeners? Drawing on recent upheaval at PBS and shifting economics at NPR, he explores how digital-first strategies could quietly disintermediate the very stations that built public media’s reach. The implications, Davidson argues, extend well beyond public broadcasting and offer a cautionary lesson for all local media navigating a platform-driven future. more

As philanthropy pours new money into local journalism, a fundamental question looms: how do funders decide where their investments will have the greatest impact? With no comprehensive census of U.S. news organizations, even defining what counts as a newsroom has become a challenge. Researchers and industry leaders are now working to build shared standards and data-driven frameworks to map the true state of local news. Their work, led by the Local News Impact Consortium, could reshape how funders identify news deserts, measure capacity and direct resources where they’re needed most. more