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: Invest in Niche Communities and They’ll Invest in You

In a two-part series on the Engaged Journalism Lab, Tracie Powell writes about  the importance of developing niche audiences. Powell speaks with a journalist in the Midwest who, after struggling to prove the news value of her stories for years, left her outlet. The second part of the series, published this week, takes a look at recent workshops hosted by organizations like the American Press Institute, the Local Independent Online News Publishers, and the Online News Association. Many of these meetings are bringing journalists together to rethink how they can connect with their audiences on a deeper, more authentic level. Because as Powell says, “People will support local news and investigative reporting, they just need to see themselves in that coverage, or see that it helps them identify solutions for everyday problems.” (Disclosure: Powell is a senior fellow at Democracy Fund.)
 

Collaboration and Experimentation in North Carolina

This week, the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund announced half a million in grants to 10 projects that are building a healthier local news and information ecosystem in the state. They range from fact-checking collaboratives between sworn rivals (Duke and UNC), to a digital first Spanish-language news startup to community media training. They represent the need for a wide array of responses and innovations in the quest for a healthier and more inclusive future for local news and information. Collaboration is part of all of these projects in some way, and the funding program itself is a collaboration between funders. We believe that the future of local news will be built this way: by people coming together to build new networks that serve the public. Legacy media, public media, nonprofit news, digital startup, civic labs, public libraries and more — local news needs all of us. We’re looking forward to sharing lessons from this work, and bringing more people and organizations on board. Have a question or want to know more? Reach out to localnewslab@democracyfund.org.

• $500,000 goes to 10 North Carolina projects redefining the future of local news 
• Meet the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund grantees
• Sign up for Local News Lab updates

Reporting on Kids in Crisis

When ProPublica received leaked audio of children in a detention center calling for their parents, they had to move swiftly but with profound care and empathy for those involved. Any time children are at the center of our stories we need to be thoughtful. But when those children and their families are in crisis, it is all the more critical we act with deep integrity and prioritize their well being. Disturbing reports of abuse in immigrant detention centers have been making headlines in recent weeks, alongside stories of family reunifications and the lingering effects of the crisis at the U.S. borders. The resources we’ve collected below explore the delicate balance of ethics and care when reporting on already vulnerable children caught in the middle of these traumatic situations.

• Reporting Institute Resources: Early Childhood Trauma, Resilience and the Developing Brain – DART 
• Guidelines for journalists reporting on children – UNICEF 
• For Journalists: Resources and guidelines – Child Rights International Network 
• Reporting on Children – Alison Holt/BBC 
• Reporting Ethically on Children’s Physical and Mental Health – Center for Health Journalism 

Coverage Past the Tipping Point

The upcoming anniversary of Hurricane Harvey on August 25 got us thinking about what happens when a story reaches a tipping point and public interest moves on to something else. We know journalists are working to balance between the new-and-now and sustained coverage beyond anniversary stories, often with not enough resources. The long-term story of any disaster is complex and bound up with many other issues facing our communities. We’ve pulled together some resources to help you sustain coverage on complex stories, like the ones connected to Hurricane Harvey. We’ve also included some thoughtful reflections and examples of ongoing Harvey coverage that have balanced long and the short-term lenses.

• Aftermath & Anniversaries (Resource) – DART 
• Rewriting History: Anniversary Stories, Shared Memory and Minority Voices – Center for Journalism Ethics 
• In Harvey’s Wake – The Texas Tribune 
• Hurricane Harvey: A closer look at Houston’s biblical floods – Houston Chronicle 
• Harvey exposed every point of weakness (Opinion) – Houston Chronicle
• Ethics in storm journalism – The Outline 
• Activism drives attention drives aid (Video) – Matt Stempeck

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

p.s. NewsMatch 2018 is coming this fall and it promises to be even bigger than last year with more local newsrooms in more places taking part. Facebook just contributed $1 million to the matching fund. You can sign up to be alerted when the campaign launches and help spread the word at NewsMatch.org.

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.