Connecting communities with their local news

Dear Reader,

Have you noticed the nationalization of news? When complicated stories are in the news, The Conversation is especially relevant. Our editors specialize in finding experts to explain the key concepts clearly, and always accurately, based on years or decades of study. It pairs the years of experience of our editors with the years of experience of the experts.

Think of a candidate for city council who runs a campaign based on whom they support for president, or hot-button social topics instead of issues like schools, safety and property taxes. As important as national issues are, they shouldn’t crowd out local ones. 

That’s a key reason The Conversation recently launched an important new project to localize the journalism we produce.

Earlier this year, we started pilots in Philadelphia, Detroit, South Florida and Colorado. The nearly 100 stories we’ve done so far have all of the great features that make The Conversation’s content so trusted and relevant. They are evidence-based, well-sourced and bylined by true experts.

So what’s new about this pilot?

The articles focus on one community and the specific information residents need. Many times these are issues that are important nationally, but where the national framing is abstract and partisan − for example, education, criminal justice, climate change and environmental health. We bring these issues home to our readers in these communities. Great examples of this include the impact of Philadelphia’s surveillance camera system, Colorado’s new initiatives in affordable housing, and Miami’s threats from rising seas. It’s all information that is vital to residents and voters − but so hard to find!

We are returning research findings to communities that academics mine for data or case studies − a notion some describe as “research justice.” There is so much research based in communities across the country that the people studied have had no access to − until now.

We are deepening our connection with local media, establishing a two-way flow of ideas so that we help deepen their work − and ours. And we’re listening to local readers by encouraging them to send us questions, story ideas and feedback on what we’ve published.

Before joining The Conversation, I worked for years in under-resourced local newsrooms owned by distant corporations. Running this pilot is a dream job for me. I honestly love helping local newsrooms survive in this tough climate for journalism. But the truth is: 50% of the budget for this initiative is funded by the Knight Foundation. To keep the pilot going, and to grow it to new cities, we need to raise the rest of the money from other sources.

Can you help the Conversation work against the nationalization of news?

Every gift counts. We’re giving away a couple of magazine-style e-books to every donor, no matter how large or small the gift. One brings together seven fascinating articles on the future of work, and the second is all about what we can learn and take away from ancient religious texts.

And every major gift of $1,000 or more will be acknowledged with a hard copy of The Conversation’s upcoming book on that topic. Published by Johns Hopkins University Press, it is a must-read compilation of dozens of illuminating articles on how and why working in the 21st century is rapidly changing. 

Our work continues to have a national and global impact. With your help, it can now have a local impact in improving communities, too.

With thanks,

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