Welcome to the Local Fix. Each week we look at key debates in journalism sustainability and community engagement through the lens of local news.  But first, we always begin with one good idea…

One Good Idea: Local Candidates’ Taxes
While much has been made about Trumps missing tax returns during this election, there are good reasons for local journalists to ask to review the tax returns of local candidates too. Amy Wu at the National Center for Business Journalism has a good post about what these tax returns might reveal and offers some advice on what to look for. 

A New Take on a Familiar Debate: Print vs. Digital

Jack Shafer at Politico reignited an old debate this week when he covered a new study that argues newspapers’ rush to the web was a mistake, and that it eroded the resources they could have been using to serve their print audiences and advertisers. While debates like this can feel like a hamster wheel, where we are stuck rehashing old arguments, Shafer’s piece sparked some thoughtful and nuanced responses that are worth your time. If you haven’t been tuned into the debate here are a few links to get you started: 

• What If the Newspaper Industry Made a Colossal Mistake? – by Jack Shafer 
• The newspaper industry’s colossal mistake was a defensive digital strategy – by Steve Buttry 
• Print versus digital: Special 2016 edition! – by Dan Kennedy 
• The Slow, Painful Death of the Media’s Cash Cow – by Megan McArdle 

Empathy, Compassion and Building Journalism for Hearts and Minds

Empathy has been a buzzword this year – and I’m happy about that. Blog posts and conference sessions have looked at how journalists can develop their own empathy for the communities they cover, how their stories can foster empathy, and how new technology (like VR) can deepen empathy. The question of how journalism helps us understand each other, to see the world through new eyes, and honor the lived experiences of different communities is an important one, especially we face a range of divides across our nation.  

• Jeff Jarvis wrote this week about four paths to creating a more empathetic media that better meets the needs of local communities: (1) reflecting communities, (2) diversifying media, (3) serving people, and (4) convening communities.  
• Earlier this year, New York Times journalist John Leland wrote about one of his stories and what happens “when reporting and caring are intertwined.” 
• In response to Leland, educator and journalist Steve Buttry argued that “humanity is more important and honest than objectivity for journalists.”   
• And back in 2012, Poynter wrote that: “Compassion is not journalism’s downfall, it’s journalism’s salvation.” 
   

Audience Attention and Desktop Pop-up Alerts

Push notifications have become central to how many of us use our phones to stay up to date about things we care about, from our appointments to our local news. But increasingly newsrooms are testing creative ways to use push notifications on the web and desktops. How might you be able to create new habits with your readers, marshal audience attention and provide different kinds of services via these desktop pop-ups? Here are a few ideas:

• Using Web Notifications for News – Guardian Mobile Innovation Lab 
• On the hunt for direct audience connections, publishers turn to desktop push notifications – Digiday 
• Inside The New York Times’ new push notifications team – Digiday 
• Lessons from our first experiment with pop-up fact-checking – Reporters Lab 

Have a good weekend,
Josh

The Local Fix is a project of the Democracy Fund’s Public Square Program, which invests in innovations and institutions that are reinventing local media and expanding the public square. Disclosure: Some projects mentioned in this newsletter may be funded by Democracy Fund, you can find a full list of the organizations we support on our website.