Matt DeRienzo | Editor&Publisher | November 25, 2019

How did we get to a point where the size of the audience for many local newspapers is bigger than ever thanks to digital platforms, while the public perception of their reach and impact is at an all-time low?

Twenty-five years of doom and gloom about the internet killing your business will certainly affect a reputation. So will an endless cycle of newsroom cuts, layers of outsourcing in the quest of cheaper customer service and delivery expenses, smaller and thinner editions, and simply providing less local news coverage than before.
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Rob Tornoe | Editor & Publisher | November 22, 2019

Rob Tornoe is a cartoonist and columnist for Editor and Publisher, where he writes about trends in digital media. He’s also a digital editor and writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In this E&P article he shares a rundown on some cool apps, hacks and digital time savers that he uses in his job regularly.
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PEN America | November 22, 2019

As local news outlets are gutted and shuttered, reporters laid off, publication schedules cut, and resources tightened across the country. A new report from PEN America, Losing the News: The Decimation of Local News and the Search for Solutions sounds the alarm about the existential threat facing local watchdog journalism and proposes big-picture solutions for its revitalization. The report ultimately calls for a radical rethinking of local journalism as a public good.
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Leah Willingham | Concord Monitor | November 19, 2019

The Concord Monitor has filed suit with the American Civil Liberties Union to obtain a 100-plus page report by an independent investigator into Concord School District officials’ handling of misconduct allegations against a former teacher charged with sexual assault.
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WBUR Here & Now | November 21, 2019

A series of mergers and acquisitions in the newspaper industry this week led some analysts to call it a “turning point” — and not one for the better.

Here & Now’s Robin Young talks to Roben Farzad (@robenfarzad), host of Public Radio’s Full Disclosure, about why the consolidation of the news industry is dangerous for civil society.
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Student Press Law Center | November 23, 2019

Students from Burlington, Vermont who broke a story about alleged inappropriate behavior by a faculty member and triumphed over both censorship and prior review are being honored with the “Courage in Student Journalism Award.”
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Associated Press | November 25, 2019

The Associated Press, through an unprecedented collaboration with Report for America, will bolster its 50-state presence with the addition of 14 statehouse reporters, providing local newsrooms with essential accountability journalism and state government coverage.
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Mark Hayward | New Hampshire Union Leader | Nov. 21, 2019

Last weeks appeals were brought by two newspaper companies — the Union Leader Corporation and Seacoast Newspapers Inc. — and Keene State College journalism instructor Marianne Salcetti, who sued Keene after the city repeatedly refused Right-to-Know requests from students about matters such as restaurant inspections, police misconduct, public drinking citations and sexual assaults.
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Worcester Business Journal | November 19, 2019

A new poll by the Worcester Business Journal asks this question. With predictable results. At this writing the results of the ongoing poll showed:
62% of respondents thought it was not a good idea because corporate consolidation eliminates individual entities from newspapers.
4% of respondents thought it was good because it brings stability to an industry that has been in turmoil since the digital age.
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