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.
Digital technologies and the future of journalism
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…
Penny Abernathy speaks at launch of UNC library local news exhibit
A new exhibit celebrating two centuries of North Carolina’s local news publications kicked off at the UNC Wilson Special Projects Library Feb. 27 with a talk by Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics Penny Abernathy, who shared her…
Loss of local news compounds problems of struggling local governments
In a piece for The Atlantic, Ted C. Fishman examines the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating economic effects on state and local governments, the threat to democracy and how a loss of local news compounds the problem. “The loss of essential services…
Should journalism be part of general education?
Should journalism basics be part of general education? Poynter is examining the public’s increasing role in news coverage as traditional media numbers decline and smartphone technology becomes more ubiquitous. “The increasing power of cellphones coincided with the decreasing presence of…
The prevalence of Southern news deserts
This New York Times opinion piece by Margaret Renkl cites local news research by UNC Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics Penny Abernathy in a look at the prevalence of news deserts in the American South. Framed around…
Transforming a local news organization: Lessons in leadership
The United States has lost more than 2,100 newspapers over the past 15 years. The vast majority of those papers were weeklies serving small and mid-sized communities. In order to survive, publishers must lead the way in transforming both the…
French magazine interviews Penny Abernathy on COVID-19’s media effects
The effects of COVID-19 on the media industry are being noticed around the world. Alexis Buisson, New York correspondent of Télérama, the leading French magazine on the media, interviewed Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics Penny Abernathy for…
A publisher’s story: We need to diversify
With newspaper print advertising at historic lows, publishers of local newspapers, regardless of size, have to move quickly and decisively to seek new sources of revenue and income to support their journalism. The Pilot, a twice-weekly paper in the Sandhills…
Case study: News Corp
News Corp is looking to its Australian markets and digital real estate to help drive growth. While the digital real estate division accounts for about 45% of News Corp’s total value, according to Forbes’ estimates, it only accounts for about 14%…
UNC Table Stakes participants part of latest round of Facebook grants
Several of our UNC-Knight Foundation Newsroom Initiative Table Stakes participants — past and present — received funding as part of the Facebook Journalism Project’s $16 million in relief funds for local news. The grants include $10.3 million awarded to 144…
Project Oasis mentioned in article about The New York Times’ call for local news support
This Poynter article by Kristen Hare spotlights an online campaign recently launched by The New York Times encouraging people to support their local newsrooms. The campaign, launched ahead of World Press Freedom day, combines the members of several organizations of…
Case study: Sesame Street
Sesame Street looks nothing like its humble beginnings. More than 4,000 episodes after its 1969 start, Sesame Street’s home is premium cable, not public broadcasting. Throughout its history, Sesame Street has leaned toward being adaptable. While its partnership with HBO…