What Works in Community News

A groundbreaking study of the journalism startups that are challenging status quos across the country, from an activist video feed in Minneapolis to a watchdog news site in Memphis

A must-read for activists, entrepreneurs, and journalists who want to start local news outlets in their communities

Local news is essential to democracy. Meaningful participation in civic life is impossible without it. Studies show that voter participation is lower and corruption more pervasive in “news deserts”—places that lack reliable coverage.

Local news is in crisis. According to one widely cited study, some 2,500 newspapers have closed over the last generation, gutted by plummeting ad sales, the new economics of online content, corporate news chains, and predatory hedge funds. And it is often marginalized communities of color who have been left with without the day-to-day journalism they need to govern themselves in a democracy.

Veteran Boston Globe journalists Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy cut through the pessimism surrounding this issue, showing readers that new, innovative journalism models are popping up across the country to fill news deserts and empower communities. What Works in Community News examines more than a dozen of these projects, including:

• Sahan Journal, a digital publication dedicated to reporting on Minnesota’s immigrant and refugee communities;
• Unicorn Riot, spanning across cities including Philadelphia, Denver, and Minneapolis, a free-ranging, non-hierarchical media collective amplifying social and environmental issues;
• MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit news outlet in Memphis, TN, focused on poverty, power, and public policy;
• New Haven Independent / WNHH / La Voz Hispana de Connecticut, a digital news project that expanded its reach in the New Haven community through radio and a Spanish-language partnership;
• Storm Lake Times Pilot, a print newspaper in rural Iowa innovating with a hybrid for-profit/nonprofit model; and
• Texas Tribune, once a pioneering upstart, now one of the most well-known—and successful—digital newsrooms in the country.

Through a blend of investigate reporting and interviews, Clegg and Kennedy show how these operations found seed money and support. Some were helped by national organizations, such as Report for America and the National Trust for Local News. Others received direct payments from the government, a new approach being tried out by some localities.

What Works in Community News shows how these intrepid organizations hired staff, forged their missions, and navigated challenges from the pandemic to police intimidation to stand as the last bastion of collective truth--and keep local news in local hands.