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: Be There for Each Other
There was a point sometime earlier this week when it seemed everyone hit a wall. Across social media, around the dinner table, all over, people were talking about feeling overwhelmed. Alex Weprin of Politico put it this way: “I follow the news professionally and I can’t keep up with what is happening in the world. Imagine how typical news consumers feel.” Narrative tends to moor us, to give us grounding (this is true for most people, but especially for those of us who work in journalism), but as the Columbia Journalism Review recently pointed out, we are in a non-narrative moment. This week’s Local Fix dives into these issues in more detail, but we wanted to start with a note to you, our readers. For those who care about journalism, for those who care about the public, for those who care about truth, these are tumultuous times. And many of you are on the front lines in your communities, answering questions, seeking context. Know that we are grateful for the work you do, and you are not alone. Stand up for each other, reach out to each other, take care of each other. 

I Love Bread and Healthy News Diets

While journalists are no doubt feeling burned out by the pace of news today, our readers and communities are likely feeling that even more acutely. In Poynter, Melody Kramer asked “How might we design news for people who are burned out?” This challenge isn’t new. In 2009, a study by the Associated Press found readers were suffering from “news fatigue.” Reporting on the study in Nieman Lab Martin Langeveld described readers’ “imbalanced news diet” as “heavy on updates and disconnected facts, but short on depth and breadth in the form of contextual backstories or updates and spinoffs.” The AP argued we needed to serve our communities better by providing more context and helping them navigate the news. The articles below offer even more concrete ideas:

• How do we design the news for people who are burned out? – Poynter 
• Fatigued by the News? Experts Suggest How to Adjust Your Media Diet – New York Times
• How to Start Your Information Diet – Lifehacker 
• Keeping Up By Slowing Down: How to Establish a Media Diet – Columbia Journalism Review 
   

Checking in on the State of Local

The New York Times this week reported that after a post-election surge they had hit a record 3 million subscribers across all their platforms. Have local news organizations seen a similar bump? And what does the year ahead have in store for smaller newsrooms? A few recent articles grapple with the uncertain and uneven future for local and regional reporting. Obviously, this is the question we spend most of our time thinking about and working on here at the Local Fix, and we’d love to hear from you about what is happening in your newsroom. 

• If small newspapers are going to survive, they’ll have to be more than passive observers to the news – Nieman Lab 
• News Deserts Threaten Democracy – WUNC 
• Embracing Local That Works – Current 
• The Rise of a New Local Media Baron and the Emerging Threat of News Deserts – The Newspaper Ownership Project  

Debate Continues About How to Operate in the New Political Climate

Moving from big questions to bold answers, a number of newsrooms and commenters are beginning to hone in on how journalists can respond to the current moment. More than anything, we are in a moment where journalists have to try new things, and listen carefully, learn what works and be ready to change when something isn’t working. Adopting a nimbleness in how we work, while holding true to core values that inform the work we do, is at the heart of the articles below.

• Covering Trump the Reuters Way – Reuters 
• Newsonomics: Rebuilding the news media will require doubling-down on its core values – NiemanLab  
• This Is What ProPublica is Covering Now – ProPublica 
• Prospects for the American Press Under Trump – Press Think 
• Marketplace doesn’t “believe in the view from nowhere,” but still fired a reporter over a blog post – Nieman Lab 

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.