Local News

Geographic Fortunes—and Misfortunes—Define This New Midwest Beat

‘Although the challenges facing this Midwest region are primarily economic, Changing Gears’ mandate is more than to just tell business stories.’

When Local Eyes Were Watching Their Lawmakers

‘As beat writers know, it’s in doing these routine stories that they sniff out situations worthy of deeper digging.’

Serendipity, Echo Chambers, and the Front Page

As readers on the Web, we may filter out ‘perspectives that might challenge our assumptions and preconceptions about what’s important and newsworthy.’

Readership Institute’s Newspaper Studies

Mary Nesbitt is managing director of the Readership Institute at the Media Management Center and associate dean for curriculum and professional excellence at Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.…

Strategically Reorganizing the Newsroom

‘Two new content departments—News & Information and Enterprise—focus on producing unique local content for print and online.’

Local Voices—Once Quiet—Are Heard

On the zoned local editorial pages of The Dallas Morning News, people from the community ‘think locally … tell us something we don’t know’ and are ‘persuasive.’

Going Local: Knowing Readers Is Essential

‘… hyperlocal news sites like ours are bringing the personality of a community to the news by letting residents have a much more active role in dictating what is news.’

Going to China to Report Local Stories

‘… I returned to Charleston convinced that we do a disservice to our readers when we think local reporting only happens when we stay close to home.’

The Decline of Newspapers: The Local Story

‘Judging from our three studies, the future of America’s local newspapers is dim.’

Going Hyperlocal at the Chicago Tribune

TribLocal.com is ‘designed to give readers the depth and breadth of news and information that their local newspapers don’t deliver.’