Tag: Local news

‘Publishers can only do so much by themselves’

Growing up in rural Iowa, Becky Vonnahme didn’t have access to many local news sources. Now, as part-time executive director of the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation, Vonnahme has discovered why. Small publications, like small businesses, have a hard time getting funded. After all, ad sales alone just don’t support local journalism anymore. The foundation works

State of rural journalism: Buyers needed, news deserts expanding

The challenges of rural journalism are mainly the challenges of the communities it tries to serve, and many of those challenges are daunting. But they are not dispositive. That was made clear at the National Summit on Journalism in Rural America by some sharp, innovative and courageous editors, publishers, academics and other journalism supporters. “Community

Local news outlets should do more to combat pandemic misinformation

A recent report tracking the public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations illustrates the extent of misinformation out there as we head into another long pandemic winter. The Kaiser Family Foundation COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor–a non-partisan source of health news—found that nearly eight in 10 of the people surveyed are unsure about at least one common