At the second Appalachian Big Ideas Festival in 2023 — which took place about a year after deadly flooding killed more than 44 people in Eastern Kentucky — funders, community members and journalists were discussing how much civic infrastructure the region lad lost. In the middle of that conversation, Eli Flournoy, a former CNN journalist and managing director of news business … Read More
The argument for local news has long been rooted in crisis: communities need reliable information to function, and the organizations providing that information need financial support to survive. But in practice, that case doesn’t always land. The connection between thriving communities and reliable news can feel abstract, and focusing on the industry’s decline often leaves people feeling overwhelmed. It’s a … Read More
Local News Day — marked for the first time on April 9, 2026 — is a day of action, with the goal of reconnecting people nationwide with the trusted local newsrooms that serve their communities. It’s also a day of celebration honoring the reporters and editors that cover stories you won’t find anywhere else. In honor of the day, we’re … Read More
A new partnership between Press Forward Blue Grass and Report for America is betting that the future of rural journalism lies not in recruiting outsiders, but in equipping local residents with the skills to report on their own communities. Report for America has traditionally recruited early career journalists to become reporter “corps members” who are placed in newsrooms around the … Read More
Written by Meghan Griffith-Greene and cross-posted with permission from Poynter.org. When federal immigration agents flooded the Twin Cities earlier this year as part of “Operation Metro Surge,” local newsrooms scrambled to cover what was unfolding. It was a moment when local news mattered — when it could report what was happening, show how it was affecting communities across the region … Read More
The Media Resilience Network (MDRNet) is a newly launched initiative from Vita Activa designed to provide free, confidential mental health and peer support to journalists, especially those from underrepresented communities and newsrooms under strain. Offering one-on-one peer support, culturally attuned coaching and counseling, crisis and harm reduction services, and tailored “Task Force” assistance for local newsrooms, MDRNet (nicknamed “MotherNet”) aims … Read More
