Americans want more from local political coverage

Americans want local political coverage — but aren’t happy with what’s available

Two-thirds of Americans say they get local political news — but only a quarter are satisfied with the quality of that news they get. A new survey from Pew Research Center said that Americans are more likely to be happy with the quality of local weather, traffic and sports news than government and political news. In Poynter, Angela Fu writes that while that may be discouraging for local news outlets, they should focus on the fact that the majority of Americans are interested in local elections.

This is the second part of a series from Pew about local news habits; the first found that Americans generally believe that local news outlets are doing well financially. News outlets are now trying to correct that perspective and share more of the issues facing local news.

The Los Angeles Times published a collection of articles about how local news throughout California is struggling, with articles about specific community challenges, the future of Spanish-language media and how newsrooms are handling AI and misinformation. 

And independent publication Seven Days Vermont detailed the work that local publishers in the state are doing to remain sustainable in the face of brutal industry headwinds. In a column, publisher Paula Routly writes that she felt it was important for journalists to tell this story: “If people don’t understand why journalism is important, they aren’t likely to care enough to save it.” 

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> Times reporter was leaked a list of problem deputies. The Sheriff’s Department investigated her. (Los Angeles Times) 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department urged the state attorney to prosecute LA Times reporter Maya Lau, who had received a leaked list of problem deputies. The department alleged that Lau was a criminal suspect who had received “stolen property.” 

>> In-person newsroom safety training coming to Texas in August (IWMF)

Applications for the IWMF’s Newsroom Safety Across America initiative in Austin are open through July 31. This critical training will prepare local reporters ahead of the 2024 elections. 

Culture & Inclusion

>> New from API: 8 ideas for managing generational tensions in your news organization (Better News)

Here’s an idea to steal and adapt: With the possibility of four or five generations working side by side, the workplace may offer the best chance for decreasing generational tension and increasing cross-generational collaboration.

>> Also from API: 5 frameworks to help improve collaboration in news organizations (Better News) 

During the API Local News Summit for Table Stakes Alumni earlier this month, five frameworks emerged that can help you improve collaboration in your news organization: from>to statements, activities vs. outcomes, assumptions to knowledge, constituency maps and an ease/impact matrix. 

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Community Engagement & Trust

>> How small Colombian investigative outlet Cuestión Pública is using AI to stay relevant on social media (Reuters Institute)

Claudia Báez, co-founder and CEO of Cuestión Pública, says the outlet has begun using AI-powered applications to create threads on X. The tool, Odín, draws details from the database and assesses which elements are the most important for readers. 

>> Why “Sorry, I don’t know” is sometimes the best answer: The Washington Post’s technology chief on its first AI chatbot (Nieman Lab) 

The Post’s new climate-focused chatbot isn’t meant to address breaking news, but rather answer evergreen questions related to climate change. Chief technology officer Vineet Khosla said his team works closely with the climate desk to make sure the chatbot is interpreting information correctly and not passing along misinformation. 

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Revenue & Resilience

>> In 1924, a magazine ran a contest: “Who is to pay for broadcasting and how?” A century later, we’re still asking the same question (Nieman Lab) 

Early broadcasting suffered many of the same challenges as modern day podcasting when it came to earning money. Despite initial hesitations, direct advertising became the primary model when other forms of revenue — sponsorship, government funding, subscriptions — failed to gain traction. 

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What else you need to know

🫱🏽‍🫲🏿 VTDigger hires Neal Goswami as managing editor (VTDigger) 

🗳️ U.S. Democracy Day awards stipends to 17 pro-democracy reporting projects (Medium, Center for Cooperative Media) 

📈 Lawmakers ask Meta to delay shutting down CrowdTangle (Axios) 

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Weekend reads

+ The Journalism of Why: How we struggle to answer the hardest question (Poynter)

+ The secret battle for the future of the Murdoch empire (The New York Times) 

+ More than Ukraine fatigue: How tech companies squeeze out the Ukrainian press (Columbia Journalism Review) 

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