News and Posts
The Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media is proud to host original article series, reports from faculty and researchers, and events promoting collaboration among researchers, journalists and universities. Browse our library of articles, videos, interviews, announcements, upcoming events and more.
New Report Released: The Expanding News Desert
Read the preface of the new report by Penny Abernathy, The Expanding News Desert, below and then check out the rest of the report and find out if you live in a news desert at usnewsdeserts.com. From our very…
How the nonprofit civil beat news site found its rhythm
Honolulu Civil Beat, a news site focused on public life in Hawaii, came to life in 2010 through the support of a major philanthropist. Both he and the staff of this startup believed it was destined to be a for-profit venture.…
What quitting taught me about running a local publishing business
While earning her master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University, Andaiye Taylor discovered that she had a passion for reporting stories about her hometown, Newark, N.J. In 2013, she launched Brick City Live, an online news startup that quickly won awards and community acclaim.…
What it means to be a president/ publisher in the digital age
The Internet has blurred the line between the ways media enterprises have traditionally been defined. Successful media organizations attract, retain and grow an audience through a variety of platforms. In this case study, William R. “Bill” Barker – Florida southwest…
What exactly is a ‘News Desert’?
Our own definition of “news desert” at UNC has evolved since we published our first report The Rise of a New Media Baron and the Emerging Threat of News Deserts in 2016. In that report, we noted that with the…
A Newsletter Case Study: The Daily Press
Utilizing a new visual, map-based email newsletter allowed for the Daily Press, a news organization in the Hampton Roads-Tidewater (VA) area, to increase unique clicks by 36% over the control email. The results of a six-week test suggest that…
Will two of the largest investment newspaper barons merge into one company?
Japanese telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank, which last year purchased the $70 billion investment firm that manages the largest newspaper chain in the US—GateHouse—may be considering the addition of another large newspaper chain to its portfolio. Tronc, one of the 10 largest…
News deserts pose challenges for local governments, concerned citizens
Closures and mergers of hundreds of newspapers in recent years are leaving city and county communicators across the country without a reliable news platform to reach residents. This is not only creating an information vacuum for residents, but also leaving…
UNC-Knight Foundation Table Stakes Newsroom Initiative: Taking applications for third cohort
The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media’s Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media is pleased to announce the third round of the UNC-Knight Foundation Table Stakes Newsroom Initiative and is soliciting applications for participation. Our first and second cohorts of the…
How to restore trust in the media: Abernathy’s testimony to the Knight Commission
How can we revive and restore trust in the media? University of North Carolina Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics Penelope Muse Abernathy outlined how to help save local news operations in her testimony to the Knight Commission…
Mimicking start-ups by creating tomorrow’s products
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media students had a taste of working in a start-up accelerator during the semester in Teaching Associate Professor Kate Sheppard‘s “MEJO 463: Creating Tomorrow’s Products.” The entrepreneurial course culminated in “Pitch Day” on April…
UNC welcomes new cohort for UNC-Knight Foundation Table Stakes Newsroom Initiative
Ten media organizations have been selected to learn how to engage audiences and create sustainable revenue streams as part of the year-long UNC Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative starting on April 30, 2018 and ending in April 2019. The participating organizations…