Years ago, I went to the annual conference for Local Independent Online Publishers, and it was small enough that everyone there took turns passing a mic around and introducing themselves on the first night. I’m heading back to that conference this year, and the list of attendees is 17 pages long. 

The space from here to there for that organization includes a sharp and smart turn into strategy for news entrepreneurs. LION Publishers, and the people who’ve joined it, understand there’s no field of dreams for local news. It’s not enough to build it. They can’t ignore the business, the users/audiences/customers or the tech in the quest for good, independent local journalism. All of those pieces are necessary, as are a growing number of newsrooms that better reflect the communities they serve. 

I’m excited to be in rooms with some of the smartest people in local journalism this week. And I’m equally excited that Poynter has created its own space for understanding what’s happening in our industry with a new report out this week. It’s entitled “OnPoynt – Values Rising: Trends and traction in journalism and the news industry” and was created in collaboration with Magnet Media.

The report’s introduction includes this:

“...doom-and-gloom narratives that cherry pick stories of vulture capitalists, job loss statistics and print closures are incomplete or out of date, painting an inaccurate picture of a news and information ecosystem on life support. OnPoynt aims to offer a forward-minded look at the state of journalism and the news industry that propels the story by considering trends related to creative product ideas, audience growth strategies and traction around revenue, artificial intelligence and innovation."

It contains a chapter on local news, which I hope you’ll take the time to dig into. The introduction to that chapter reads “Local news is not dying. It’s transforming.” It also includes lists of newsrooms that are community-centered, news and topic-oriented. 

I’m excited to see some of the people behind these newsrooms this week in Chicago, as well as the many others working really hard to reimagine what’s possible in local news.

Here’s a Q&A about the report with my colleague Tom Jones and Poynter’s president, Neil Brown. 

While you’re here:

• Speaking of hope, read “Start the presses again: One Indiana town fights ghost news with old-school ink and paper,” from the Indiana Daily Student.

• And speaking of amazing, independent student journalism, read about the University of Florida student journalists who broke big news.

• If you haven’t been following the Google/local journalism funding story in California, here’s a Los Angeles Times story to catch you up.

• Poynter's Digital Transformation Program for public media, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has already trained hundreds of leaders and station personnel and led to millions in new digital revenue and users/subscribers. Read more about the program's two tracks and application process, which closes Friday, Sept. 6.

• There’s still time to sign up for my four-week virtual course on AI and journalism, and here are the AI tools the experts I’m working with are using, promoting and nervous about.

• And check out these election coverage tip sheets from The Journalist’s Resource.

That’s it for me. I don’t think I’ve been to a journalism conference since 2019 and it’s possible I’ve forgotten how to act. Please send me your favorite tips to get the most out of big, professional gatherings. 😅

Kristen