Tag Archives: Institute for Nonprofit News

Local News Matters (In Lieu of News You Should View)

3 Replies

Note: My weekly media roundup, “News You Should View,” has taken the week off. I’ve been very busy with non-blog-related work lately. In particular, there’s been a lot of activity around my duties as a board member of The Hardwick Gazette. This post reflects that involvement and broader thoughts about the importance of local news, which is the bread and butter of “News You Should View.”

Local news has always mattered. It’s the only way we can keep in touch with our town and city governments, school boards, high school sports, arts, and community events, not to mention road construction, floods, fires, crashes, and crime. But it matters even more now, at this moment, than it ever has before.

That’s because larger media outlets, such as daily newspapers, radio and TV, have shrunk to an alarming degree. Local outlets, including weekly newspapers and digital-only operations, occupy what would otherwise be “news deserts” — places with little to no news coverage at all. These “deserts” would include most of Vermont if not for the valiant efforts of our local papers and digital outlets.

Continue reading →

News You Should View, Local Hijinks Edition

Leave a reply

This post is a bit later than usual* because it’s taken me a while to get my feet back under me after an exhausting but rewarding trip last week. I attended a conference organized by the Institute for Nonprofit News, one of several organizations dedicated to fostering a new wave of nonprofit journalism.

*I’m only including items published on or before Sunday, June 8 in hopes of returning to my usual schedule with the next installment.

It was intense, and I’m still processing what I learned. But my single biggest takeaway is that there’s an amazing amount of talent, energy and dedication in this relatively brand-new field. People all over the country are creating nonprofit news outlets at local, state, regional, and national levels, and coming up with novel strategies for achieving sustainability. (There are also a lot of organizations and foundations eager to promote and invest in this new, nonprofit model of journalism.) It’s not easy and success is not assured, but I was blown away by the quality of the people involved in this effort. Made me more optimistic about the project.

INN’s membership includes about 500 organizations. More than 400 people gathered in Minneapolis for three days of panel discussions, workshops, and one-on-one meetings with experts. I was there as a board member of the Hardwick Gazette, and I was determined to bring back as much information and as many ideas as possible. That meant taking full advantage of everything I could fit in. Let’s put it this way: I’d never been to Minneapolis before, and I still feel like I haven’t. Almost all my time was spent within a couple blocks of the conference hotel.

Coincidentally enough, this week’s edition of NYSV is heavy on content from Vermont’s own local outlets, many of which are now nonprofit. Some of the stories are about the local repercussions of state policy debates, while others are about the vagaries of small-town politics. These are services that only a grassroots outlet can perform, and Vermont is lucky to have as many small “papers” as we do.

Continue reading →

In Lieu of News You Should View

3 Replies

My usual Sunday roundup of noteworthy journalism is taking the week off, as I prepare to head out of town for most of this week. I’m attending INN Days, a conference for nonprofit news organizations organized by the Institute for Nonprofit News. This is a still very new but immensely consequential field; it’s really the best option we have for a vibrant journalistic future.

I serve on the board of the Northeast Kingdom Public Journalism, the nonprofit operator of The Hardwick Gazette. The “paper” (now a digital weekly) is very successful in terms of journalism, but struggling to achieve financial sustainability.

Not unlike just about every other nonprofit journalism organization besides public radio and television. Well, the broadcasters have their own struggles, but for nonprofit “print” reporting on paper or digital, the challenges are very much existential. We still don’t know if this model actually works.

So I’m traveling to Minneapolis in search of ideas, answers, and connections. No pressure, though.

Continue reading →