Center for Innovation & Sustainability in Local Media
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
UNC Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics Penny Abernathy recently appeared on the “Axios Today” podcast — featured in a conversation about the future of local news and its vital role in democracy. Abernathy recently published “News Deserts…
An article by Tom Stites in Poynter examined findings from the recently released “News Deserts and Ghost Newspapers: Will Local News Survive?” — the fourth in a series of reports by Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics Penny…
This Better News piece profiles an innovative town hall-style event hosted by EducationNC, a 2018-19 participant of the UNC-Knight Foundation Table Stakes Newsroom Initiative. The February 2020 EducationNC event allowed high school students in a rural North Carolina county to…
Susan Leath is the director of the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media at UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Today the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media’s Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media…
This Editor & Publisher piece details Project Oasis, a partnership between the UNC Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media, Google News Initiative and LION Publishers created to identify, share and implement the best practices that help local digital…
In recent weeks, the latest killings of African-Americans by law enforcement have not only anguished our country but locked its attention on police brutality directed at communities of color. As Americans have tried to come to terms with our history…
Revolutionary new technologies are compelling news organizations to recreate their business models or be left in history’s wake. New business models are beginning to emerge as leaders explore ways to tap into the potential unleashed by this interactive, always-on…
COVID-19 has shuttered more than 30 local newsrooms across America, says Kristen Hare in this article for Poynter. The pandemic’s far-reaching economic effects continue to exacerbate pre-existing industry conditions creating not only closures but mergers, and the newspapers disappearing —…
This Los Angeles Times editorial looks at key causes of declining newspaper numbers across the nation: including changing reader habits; the migration of classified advertising to Craigslist and other internet services; the dominance Google and Facebook built over online advertising; and the slowness of legacy…
We are at the beginning of another revolutionary era in communication. Digital products like streaming videos and e-books seemed like remote possibilities in the 1990s, but consumer habits have shifted dramatically as technology advanced. While successful entrepreneurs can’t always predict…