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: Sorry About Those AdsThis week, the Tampa Bay Times did something that might sound a little strange – they apologized for the ads on their website. Those spammy malicious ads that proclaim you’ve ‘won an iPhone!’ have taken over the site. (Vox had a similar post and explanation  when it happened to them.) The bright side here is that the Times is being open and transparent about the issue. There’s a post on their site, several reporters and editors are tweeting about it, and they’re having real conversations with their audience. Sometimes, you just have to be real about the annoying mess-ups and build trust from there.  

Facewho?

A Danish regional TV station TV Midtvest took a two-week Facebook break – and lived to tell about it. In fact, they called it a “spa vacation.” We know that news organizations shouldn’t rely on platforms, but could you take a similar two-week (or longer) break? Maybe it’s time to experiment. And if not for your news organization, maybe you could take a little detox and see what it frees up for you. Here are a few tips and inspiration to try it out. 

• This TV station took a “marvelous” Facebook fast — and thinks other media companies should too– Nieman Lab 
• Note to Self’s Bored and Brilliant challenge helps you detach from your phone – WNYC 
• Smartphone Detox: How To Power Down In A Wired World – NPR 

Funding Local News and Information for Communities

We were at the Knight Media Forum this week, a gathering of media leaders and local and national foundations talking about ways to work together to strengthen local news and information in communities. (You can check out #infoneeds on Twitter for lots of interesting takeaways.) There were several resources shared with foundations new to funding journalism that anyone might find useful, even (especially) if you’re on the other side of the equation. We also pulled out a few of our most-used resources, including guidelines from the American Press Institute on ethical best practices for funders and nonprofit media organizations. Use these resources to learn more about the funding world, and how to make your case ethically and well.

• Investing in Local Journalism, Public Media, and Storytelling [PDF] – Wyncote Foundation 
• Updated Journalism and Media Grantmaking guide offers insights for funders new to the field – Media Impact Funders
• Guidance on philanthropic funding of media and news – American Press Institute 
• Effective Place Based Philanthropy: The Role and Practices of a National Funder  – Democracy Fund  
• Unlocking the Secrets to Foundation Funding – The Local News Lab 
• Lessons from The Seattle Times’ Work with Foundations – Tweets from a presentation by Sharon Chan

Onboarding Matters 

In December, Open News held the inaugural SRCCON:WORK conference. Andrea Hart, co-founder of City Bureau, and Nesima Aberra, audience engagement editor at The Center for Public Integrity, attended and shared some takeaways over on The Local News Lab. One popular session was about onboarding. Wikimedia’s Melody Kramer shared research at the session that suggests implementing a standard onboarding process can increase new hire productivity by 54 percent, and new hire retention rate by 50 percent. Effective onboarding can also set up successful mentorship, company-wide engagement, and signal inclusiveness. Here’s a useful packet from the session to help employers assess and plan their onboarding practices. It includes audit questions, worksheets to help with prioritizing levels of information, and a time tracker to help navigate the process. 

• Onboarding Audit and Worksheet – SRCCON: WORK 
• Better Onboarding, Better Retention, Happier Humans  -SRCCON 
• The UX of why people hate their new job after three months – Damon Kiesow

P.S. This last section was the first guest section written by our Spring 2018 intern Melinda Szekeres.

Interested in interning with the Local Fix crew this summer? Learn more and apply here.  

Have a good weekend,

Josh and Teresa, with editing help this week from Lea @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.