This newsletter is nothing like I first envisioned it. It was originally going to be called “City Desk.” It had a monthly theme with specific kinds of guests each week (a boss, a reporter, someone on the biz side, and a nonjournalist.) It was, in fact, never called “City Desk,” and the monthly theme, while fun, lasted about a year. 

I realized I was making things harder than they needed to be and started following where the news led. 

This month, Local Edition is 8 years old. To celebrate that birthday, I’d love to share some of my favorite newsletters with you and find out about your faves, too. 

Here are a few of my favorite newsletters about local journalism:

• Second Rough Draft by Richard J. Tofel, the founding general manager and former president of ProPublica, is a must-read right now. It’s described as “a newsletter about journalism, usually about it today, sometimes about its future, often reflecting on its past. Thus, it is also often about history, frequently history as it relates to journalism, sometimes just American history for its own sake.”

• LION Publishers’ weekly newsletter is always full of opportunities, news and work that anyone who cares about local should be following. 

• The Pivot Fund’s newsletter shares stories each edition that reflect that organization’s goal: “The Pivot Fund disrupts and reimagines the journalism industry, ensuring equity for BIPOC-led community organizations and the BIPOC communities they serve.” It’s always full of stories about people and newsrooms that more of us should be paying attention to.

• Matt Pearce’s Substack is a great place to follow his work and coverage of our industry. The former Los Angeles Times reporter has a strong voice and uses it very effectively. 

• Local Matters features watchdog reporting from around the country. 

Other good stuff:

• I look forward to The New York Times’ The Morning every day, but its Saturday edition feels like Saturdays should in a way I’m not sure how to describe. Rather than leading with news, it’s more of an essay that always gets me thinking. I’m also a looky-loo and love the regular feature on real estate, The Hunt. 

• Julia Carpenter’s A Woman To Know “profiles of once-forgotten women from history.”

• Links I Would GChat You If We Were Friends is such a smart and always timely read from Caitlin Dewey. 

• The Poynter Report by my colleague Tom Jones is another favorite for a daily look at what’s happening in our industry. You can also check out all our newsletters here.

There are more, of course, but I’d love to hear from you. What are your favorite newsletters, industry-related or otherwise? Respond to this newsletter and if I get enough, I’ll share them in my next edition! 

A few more things to share:

• Check out this Digital Transformation Guide from the American Press Institute.

• The Knight Foundation announced a $25 million investment into the American Journalism Project to "accelerate the growth of nonprofit local news organizations nationwide.”

• And you have until April 2 to apply for a Rosalynn Carter Journalism Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. This fellowship includes trips to the Carter Center in Atlanta, a $10,000 stipend and resources for mental health reporting. 

That’s it for me! Club volleyball season is in full swing for my eighth grader, and when I’m not in a convention center with overpriced parking, I’m visiting colleges with my high school junior. I figure I’ll sleep in again when they’re adults. 🫠

Kristen