Extra, extra: How to solve the local news crisis
Monday, January 22, 2024
7:00 PM ET
7 p.m. ET Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Extra, extra: How to solve the local news crisis
A live, in-person panel discussion featuring:
- Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project
- Margaret Sullivan, author of Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy
- Steven Waldman, founder and president of Rebuild Local News
- Kimi Yoshino, editor of The Baltimore Banner
- Moderated by Tracie Potts, executive director of the Eisenhower Institute
Program begins promptly at 7. Light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.
Join us as we kick off National News Literacy Week 2024! Seats are limited, so register today!
According to a 2022 Gallup/Knight Foundation survey, 67% of Americans say they regularly get local news from established sources such as broadcast TV, radio, newspapers or magazines. But since 2005, more than 2,500 newspapers in the U.S. – a quarter of them – have shut down. Research shows that when a local paper closes, communities experience lower voter turnout, decreased civic engagement, less accountability and increased polarization. With quality sources of local news in decline, our democracy is at risk.
That’s why our theme for National News Literacy Week 2024 is spotlight on local news. We must find solutions to the local news crisis so communities are well-informed and civically engaged. To explore these issues and kick off National News Literacy Week, we are hosting a distinguished panel of journalists, innovators, media critics and educators. They will discuss pressing issues facing local news coverage, how additional funding can help, and other possible solutions.
About the panelists
Sarabeth Berman serves as the chief executive officer of the American Journalism Project, the first venture philanthropy dedicated to local news. AJP makes grants to nonprofit local news organizations across the country, supporting the successful launch of new enterprises and partnering with existing news organizations to grow and sustain their businesses. Since launching in 2019, the organization has committed more than $44 million in investments in its growing portfolio of 37 nonprofit local news organizations.
Margaret Sullivan is a weekly columnist for The Guardian, where she writes on media, politics and culture, and she will become the executive director for the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security at Columbia Journalism School, Columbia University, on Jan. 1, 2024. Sullivan has published two acclaimed books, including Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy and Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-stained Life.
Steven Waldman is the founder and president of Rebuild Local News, which advocates for nonpartisan policies to increase reporting on local issues. He is also the co-founder and former president of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in newsrooms across America. He previously covered national politics for Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report and the Washington Monthly.
Kimi Yoshino is the editor in chief of The Baltimore Banner, a nonprofit local news outlet in Maryland. She was previously managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, where she worked for 21 years as a reporter, editor and strategic leader. She was a reporter at the Fresno Bee and the Stockton Record before joining The Times.
Tracie Potts is executive director of the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College. She previously served as senior Washington Correspondent for NBC News, where she covered four presidential administrations, Congress and the federal government. She also was an anchor and reporter at local news stations in California.
