Celebrating the first year of The Conversation Local

The Conversation started something new this year − a pilot to feature stories that explain local news.

Like all Conversation stories, the ones produced by the local team are written by experts and edited by journalists who know their stuff. They’re different because they focus more narrowly on issues affecting local communities. Part of the fun is that we’re working with journalists in our pilot cities to help shape our content.

But guess what? Many of the local stories we published this year found a readership far beyond the locations we had in mind for them − a nice reminder that we’re all connected and a good story will get read.

As we look back on the first year of The Conversation Local, we’re highlighting two stories from each location − one that readers liked paired with one the local editors felt was well worth a read.

Philadelphia

From Philadelphia editor Kate Kilpatrick, a neuron-imaging study that examined the brains of jazz musicians as they reached a creative flow state, and an exploration of what 3,356 street signs say about the city’s shifting demographics.

Detroit

Dearborn, Michigan, became the first Arab-majority city in the U.S. in 2023. We published a brief but rich history of the city − including a beautiful slideshow by local photographer Millard Berry − and we examined the so-called ghost streams that cause flooding in previously redlined neighborhoods.

Colorado

Home prices in Colorado increased nearly sixfold over the past three decades, faster even than in Florida and California. So maybe it’s not a surprise that a story about statewide zoning regulations designed to increase development and improve affordability became one of our most-read stories. Editor’s pick: Don’t trust the THC potency labels at the state’s marijuana dispensaries.

South Florida

A new law in Florida, passed after the 2021 building collapse in Surfside, requires condo associations to inspect, report and bank the money to pay for repairs on properties near the beach. It’s a financial reckoning for a million homeowners. And pollution in Florida’s waterways has led to extensive seagrass decline that poses an emerging threat to the survival of manatees.

Thanks for reading in 2024. If you’d like to see more of the work of the local editors, you can visit the landing pages for each of our pilot locations: Philly, Detroit, Colorado and South Florida.

If you’d like to support The Conversation’s ongoing work in local news and other areas, please consider donating to our end-of-year fundraising campaign. Thank you.