OFF THE TOP

You might have heard: College newspaper reporters are the journalism heroes for the pandemic era (The Washington Post) 

But did you know: How journalism students are filling gaps in local news (Medill Local News Initiative) 

As local news outlets continue to shrink and close, student journalists are increasingly providing community news. At the University of Kansas, journalism professor Teri Finneman and her students have created Eudora Times, a digital outlet covering a local suburb that had recently lost its newspaper. The students, many of whom already work part-time jobs on top of their schoolwork, say that the community really values the local news. In Franklin, Indiana, students at Franklin College are covering state government for the nonprofit news outlet Indiana Citizen. The Citizen’s founder says the partnership has allowed the publication to provide nearly daily news coverage during the statehouse’s legislative session. 

+ Noted: New program will equip journalists of color to build a professional brand and enhance digital skills (ICFJ); The Objective is taking a three-month editorial break (Twitter, @gabemschnedier); Sen. Wyden proposes new shield law to protect journalists’ phone and email records (The Washington Post); Facebook is rolling out its new newsletter product, called Bulletin, on Tuesday (CNN, Reliable Sources) 

API RESOURCES

Keeping opinion local: The benefits of cutting national politics from opinion sections

After a local newspaper dropped national politics from its opinion section, researchers found that polarization in the community spread more slowly. The newspaper also experienced a surge in letters to the editor from local contributors on local topics, including transportation, arts and culture, and online readership of the opinion section doubled. We spoke with one of the researchers about the implications of the study and considerations for other news outlets that are considering abandoning national opinion content. 

TRY THIS AT HOME

The Charlotte Ledger newsletter is on pace for $175,000 in annual revenue (Axios) 

Tony Mecia founded the North Carolina-based Charlotte Ledger as a free Substack newsletter just over two years ago. The publication, which covers local business news, then launched a subscription option when it hit 3,000 readers after about a year. The Ledger now has 2,000 paid subscribers and 6,900 free readers. There are monthly and yearly subscription options, as well as a higher “enterprise” tier. Ted Williams writes that the newsletter consists of “a mix of business scoops and aggregation — delivered with the experienced (and entertaining) voice” and says the outlet could be a blueprint for other locally-owned publications around the country. 

OFFSHORE

How local reporters in India exposed the pandemic’s true death toll (Global Investigative Journalism Network) 

As COVID-19 cases rose in India during the spring, official numbers in the state of Gujarat showed an unbelievably low death rate, sometimes as low as single digits in big cities. Reporter Yogen Joshi knew the data was unreliable, so he decided to seek out the Narmada river, where Hindus traditionally immersed the ashes of their relatives. After interviews with locals, he estimated that the death toll in the region was at least 492 per day, far above the official tally of 59. This type of on-the-ground reporting is controversial in some areas, where reporters can be stigmatized by their communities for covering the virus. 

OFFBEAT

Wikipedia is at war over the coronavirus lab leak theory (CNET) 

Editors at Wikipedia have been vigilant about curbing misinformation surrounding COVID-19 for the past 18 months. But as the debate around the virus’s origin has become as much political as scientific, “edit wars” have broken out on the site. On the COVID-19 entry’s “Talk” page, dozens have argued over the inclusion of the lab leak theory, which is currently not mentioned in the entry. At the moment, editors have determined there is not scientific evidence for the lab leak hypothesis, but some propose that a separate page for the idea — similar to one covering the evolution of Flat Earthism — could be used to discuss the controversy. Some worry that disputes like this will turn off regular contributors, leading to a brain drain across the platform. 

UP FOR DEBATE

Newsrooms often don’t tell job and internship applicants that they didn’t get the gig. Is that wrong? (Poynter) 

A flurry of Twitter conversations on the lack of follow-through broke out after applicants to this year’s New York Times Fellowship reported that they only learned they hadn’t gotten the gig after the paper had publicly announced its hires. Jaden Edison writes that, while many view the lack of follow-up on job and internship roles as standard for the industry, news organizations (which are focused on communication) could take the time to keep applicants in the loop on hiring decisions. Some in newsroom management positions say that it’s impossible to keep up with the many applicants for positions, but say that setting clear boundaries — such as telling candidates up front that they’ll only be contacted if their application moves forward — is crucial. 

SHAREABLE

Los Angeles Times wants to be a ‘media platform,’ not just a newspaper (CNN) 

In an interview with CNN’s Brian Stelter, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and new editor Kevin Merida said that their vision for the newspaper could expand beyond journalism to include poetry, comedy, block parties and DJ battles. Merida said the goal was to become “irresistible” to readers by becoming central to their lives. They said that journalism remains foundational to the outlet, but that expanding into a broader ecosystem of content could appeal to people who would otherwise not consider subscribing to or reading The Times. Soon-Shiong says he believes that there’s “no reason” they couldn’t reach 4 million subscribers in California alone.