June 7, 2021
How to listen during a pandemic and other lessons from recent local news ecosystem research
Central to all of these lessons is the understanding that research itself can be an investment in a community.
The Local News Lab has been archived as of March 1, 2023. This page will remain online but will not be updated. More info.
The latest Research
Read our newest posts, or filter them by topic.
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November 15, 2019
New report: Successes and lessons learned from Stories of Atlantic City
This post on restorative narrative in Atlantic City, N.J. comes from the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, and is being republished here with the permission of…
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July 5, 2018
Experiment shows that expert comments can increase news credibility
Illustration by Melinda Szekeres By Jessica Mahone, Democracy Fund Public Square Research Associate Conversations between academic research and local newsrooms are often siloed. Interesting and useful findings from…
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June 20, 2018
How we know journalism is good for democracy
Updated September 2022: This research review has become a critical guide for funders, policymakers, communities, and journalists who care about creating a healthier democracy.
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May 2, 2018
Audiences see local news as more ‘noteworthy’ than national news in survey
By Jessica Mahone, Democracy Fund Public Square Research Associate Conversations between academic research and local newsrooms are often siloed. Interesting and useful findings from research are trapped in long…
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April 5, 2018
Introducing our collaborative spreadsheet for the news community — and a few observations on making it
Illustration by Melinda Szekeres By Melinda Szekeres The Democracy Fund team often writes about diversifying sources, sharing resources, and collaborating on projects in…
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February 23, 2018
Improving newsroom culture: four takeaways from SRCCON:WORK
Group shot from one of the SRCCON:WORK opening talks. Photo by Erik Westra By Melinda Szekeres, with contributions from Andrea Hart and Nesima Aberra…
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January 31, 2018
Newsrooms should strengthen relationships among community members, report recommends
Photo by Abrinsky/CC By Jessica Mahone, Democracy Fund Public Square Research Associate Conversations between academic research and local newsrooms are often siloed. Interesting and useful findings from research…
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December 14, 2017
Advances in survey research make reporting polls a challenge for newsrooms, research shows
Photo via Markus Spiske, via Creative Common. By Jessica Mahone, Democracy Fund Public Square Research Associate Conversations between academic research and local newsrooms are often siloed. Interesting…
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September 9, 2017
Journalists and educators, it’s time to get to know each other
By Sheila Solomon originally published August 2, 2017 There may be no better time than now to help more working journalists and working educators get to know each other.
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May 15, 2017
Here’s How to Run Focus Groups in Your Local News Community
Editor’s Note: We recently published a guide to running focus groups for local newsrooms who want to understand their community’s information needs. The guide is full of practical tips,…
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May 3, 2017
Keys to successful local-national news collaborations: What can you do today to be a Partnership Sherpa?
This is the final installment in a series for the Center for Cooperative Media(generously funded by our friends at…
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April 21, 2017
Local Fix: Local Podcasts that Work, Mobile Apps, and Trust
Subscribe to the Local Fix. Welcome to the Local Fix. Each week we look at key debates in journalism sustainability and community engagement through the…
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March 17, 2017
Local Fix: Spread Truth, Tips for Transparency, and Filter Bubbles
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,…