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:  Listen
We often share readings and tips on listening here in the Fix. But we thought we’d spend this week reminding you that we’re listening, too. One of the best things about the newsletter is hearing feedback and sparking conversations about the topics we all care about. So, as always, if you ever have a project you’re excited about, a question you want answered, a topic to highlight, or feedback for us, send it our way by replying to this email localnewslab@democracyfund.org, or saying hi on Twitter @TheLocalNewsLab.

This week, we took a look back and found some of the recent posts and stories we wouldn’t have gotten to without your help.

In April, we asked Local Fix readers how they are growing audiences for their local podcasts. In addition to getting some great recommendations for other podcasts to listen to and newsletters to read, such as this list of podcasts from outside of the coastal bubble from the newsletter The Bello Collective, we received several responses on the audience growth work newsrooms have been doing, with many questions to follow-up on. Find excerpts from newsrooms in Kansas City, Honolulu, and newsrooms using Hearken to power a local podcast at the Local News Lab.

We highlighted KQED’s partnership with Nextdoor, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch reader engagement editor Beth O’Malley shared how they experimented with the social networking site with specific Nextdoor sharing buttons for the past few months. Now, the Post-Dispatch is doing more with Nextdoor. We’re looking forward to hearing lessons from this experiment in St. Louis.

Local Fix readers shared the women working in local news they admire (a list that is in no way exhaustive).

We received a reminder of the amazing work happening every day in newsrooms and neighborhoods when we asked people who they were thankful for. For some positive vibes, click here.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, time, and feedback with us. We look forward to it every week.

Have a good weekend,
Josh and Teresa
@jcstearns, @gteresa

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.