ISSUE

Spring 2018

Reinventing Local TV News

Local TV news is still what the majority of Americans turn to to keep informed, with more people getting their news from television than any other source according to a 2017 Pew report, but the industry is in trouble. Despite drawing in the largest percentage of adults when comparing local, network, and cable TV news, local TV news has also seen the steepest drop-off in viewership in the last year. Profits have shrunk in the last three decades, and people of all demographics—young adults, especially—are turning away from television. But while many stations, afraid of alienating older viewers, are wary of innovation that may draw new audiences in, a host of stations is experimenting with new ways to attract younger, more diverse audiences. At a time when local TV news is often written off as formulaic, with sensationalism triumphing over substance, a look at stations that are going digital-first, crowdsourcing reporting, experimenting with augmented reality, and injecting more personality into the news.

Articles

"Money Stories are People Stories": After decades as a business journalist, Marilyn Geewax, NF '95, turns to teaching to inspire the next generation

“Money Stories are People Stories”: After decades as a business journalist, Marilyn Geewax, NF ’95, turns to teaching to inspire the next generation

Except for my Nieman year, I had been staring down deadlines every work day since age 22. So after four decades of newsroom stresses, I moved back to Atlanta, where…
The End of the Ad World as We Knew It

The End of the Ad World as We Knew It

While covering the media business for The New Yorker for more than 25 years, Ken Auletta has profiled many of the most important leaders of the Information Age and reported…
Critics and Online Outlets Leading the Vanguard in Arts Writing

Critics and Online Outlets Leading the Vanguard in Arts Writing

When pop artist Jeff Koons had a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, it seemed every art critic had to have his or her say.…
In the Philippines, Journalists Confront Fake News and a Crackdown on Press Freedom

In the Philippines, Journalists Confront Fake News and a Crackdown on Press Freedom

Despite the obstacles in an increasingly hostile environment, independent Filipino news outlets are doing vital work

“The Requesting of Good Things”

I didn’t always know I wanted to be a reporter. I came at it sideways, in college, after deciding to major in creative writing. There’s no career path for writing…

Investing in the Next Crop of Promising Media Companies: Maya Baratz Jordan, a 2016 Knight Visiting Nieman Fellow, on key ingredients for success and openings in a new accelerator program

After years of building digital products for companies ranging from Flickr to The Wall Street Journal to ABC News, I made a move to the investing side to help support…
Can "Extreme Transparency" Fight Fake News and Create More Trust With Readers?

Can “Extreme Transparency” Fight Fake News and Create More Trust With Readers?

Frontline executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath was in her office late last summer when special projects editor Philip Bennett walked in. He’d just been watching the raw footage from Frontline’s upcoming…
“There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate"

“There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate”

Matthew Caruana Galizia is a data journalist and software engineer at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). He is a founding member of ICIJ’s data and research unit, which…

In the Transformation to an Information Company, Bringing in Substantial Revenue: Chronicle of Higher Education editor in chief Michael Riley, NF ’95, leads a team creating in-depth reports that are a new revenue stream

I spend many of my waking hours—and some of my sleeping hours, too—thinking about how best to ensure the health and long-term growth of The Chronicle of Higher Education Inc.,…
“Journalistic Solidarity Can Move Mountains”

“Journalistic Solidarity Can Move Mountains”

Elena Milashina, who studied music in college, planned to write about arts and culture when she was hired by Novaya Gazeta (“New Newspaper”) in 1997. Instead, she became an investigative…