But first, we always begin with one good idea…One Good Idea: Make a Social Media Tool Kit

 
Across Women’s Lives, a reporting initiative from public radio’s PRI, recently shared how social media is part of the process of its reporting at all stages. The post is a useful look at the different ways to integrate social media, especially the need for preparation, including a link to a tool kit social media editor Isis Madrid sent to the reporting team.

New research published this week by API reminds us that we should be thinking about gaining trust with more nuance. Just as studies show people don’t trust Congress, but trust their representative, the new research showed that Americans are skeptical of “the news media,” but trust the news they consume themselves more. How could we use this information to keep building trust?

Our advice, when news breaks, is to seek out local reporters who are on the ground and have history and context in the place where news is unfolding. But in the wake of many tragedies and crisis situations, local news organizations go well beyond reporting and become platforms for mobilizing community response. In addition to their tireless reporting, The Manchester Evening News has helped raise more than a million dollars for the victims. Tragedies like the attack in Manchester this week can bring out the best, and the worse in newsrooms. This week we highlight a few thoughtful articles offering guidance and warnings for how newsrooms report on terror and breaking news.

In debates about the future of news, Local TV gets left out of the picture over and over. Local TV news is still how many people get their news. It’s an important reminder to make sure local TV is part of the conversation, and that we’re checking out the trends and experiments happening there. Here are just a few articles we find interesting on the topic:

Have a good weekend,
Josh and Teresa
@jcstearns, @gteresaThe 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.