Over the last 18 months the George W. Bush Institute conducted interviews with publishers, reporters, and journalism policy experts as part of its editorial series, “Local Newsrooms Empower Citizens.” The conversations informed a series of essays that examined best practices to sustain local newspapers.
We took on this project because local news organizations give us reliable information to make informed decisions about our communities. In turn, that strengthens America’s democracy.
We also took on this project because financial pressures and technological changes have caused some news organizations to shutter their operations or become ghosts of their former selves. The essays sought to identify solutions to this challenge, whether a newspaper operates in a metropolitan, suburban, or rural community.
You will see three big lessons we learned from each of our case studies. The solutions show how to support and sustain local newsrooms and reliable information across our country.
How Sycamore Media is Surviving in Eastern Iowa
- Know your audiences.
- Supply local content.
- Adapt to change – and do it fast.
Start-Up Journalism: The Puente News Collaborative Model
- Focus on a single topic or community.
- Develop young journalists, including students.
- Diversify revenue streams.
Innovation and entrepreneurship sustain local journalism
- Use existing assets like printing presses to develop income sources.
- Attract philanthropy to fund reporting projects.
- Use data to discover and reach new audiences.
The Tulsa Flyer: The power of networks
- Create a journalistic network.
- Reach overlooked audiences.
- Provide problem-solving journalism.
Keeping Rural Journalism Alive
- Don’t be shy in hiking subscription rates.
- Have an active online presence.
- Show commitment to the community.
