Registration Now Open for 2026 NENPA Leadership Summit
Registration is now open for the 2026 NENPA Leadership Summit, taking place October 8–9 at the Publick House Historic Inn in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. This year’s theme, “What’s Next: Leading the Future of Local News,” will bring news leaders together to explore new tools, business models, leadership approaches and journalism’s evolving role in our communities.
The Summit begins Thursday evening with an informal Welcome Dinner for attendees, speakers, NENPA board members and staff. Friday’s program will move from practical experimentation with AI to conversations with news leaders pursuing new models for local journalism, before looking more broadly at the future of the industry and what attendees can take back to their own organizations.
Newsroom Spotlight: Worcester Business Journal
From its modern office in downtown Worcester, just down the street from City Hall, Worcester Business Journal has a front-row seat to a city—and a regional economy—that has undergone enormous change.
For more than three decades, WBJ has chronicled the companies, institutions, developments and people shaping Central Massachusetts. Along the way, it has developed into something more than a publication covering business transactions. It breaks daily news, provides market intelligence, convenes business leaders through events and recognition programs, and invests in deeper reporting that holds some of the region’s most powerful institutions accountable.
INDUSTRY NEWS
EVENTS
September 8 – Ethical Reporting Saves Lives: In Recognition of National Suicide Prevention Month — 12 p.m. ET
October 8-9 – NENPA Leadership Summit, Sturbridge, MA
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Celebrating 150 Years of Local Journalism — Brattleboro Reformer
Maine Healthcare Transparency Advocate to Receive NEFAC’s Citizenship Award
Reporters From Across New England to Attend NEFAC’s Annual Investigative Journalism Program
Nominations Open for E&P’s News Executive of the Year, Formerly Publisher of the Year
REPORTING & NEWSROOM RESOURCES
How to File FOIA Requests Like a Pro — RCFP
Read Your Work Out Loud and Other Tips for Finding Your Writing Voice — Poynter
To Survive, Journalism Must Become Indispensable — Poynter
Editors giving SPJ voluntary ethics code an AI-era reboot
Poynter’s 2027 leadership track offers training for journalists at every stage of leadership
A New Book Looks at How AI Is Rewiring the Newsroom, for Better and Worse — Nieman Lab
AUDIENCE, ENGAGEMENT & REVENUE
Why Gen Z Is Turning to Radio for Trust, Belonging, and Community
Gen Z Isn’t Reading Your Site, Now What? — E&P
Asking Audiences for Money? Here Is How to Make a Stronger Case — Trusting News
What Happens When Content Creators and Journalists Come Together?
Here’s How Newsrooms Are Working With Influencers — Poynter
Design Events and Digital Spaces to Create — and Measure — Impact — American Press Institute
LION’s Revamped Resource Library Helps Local Publishers Grow Revenue, Audience, and Impact
Serving Audience and Community Was the Throughline at LMA’s Local Media Fest 2026 — E&P
Why SFGATE launched an app instead of a paywall, and called it “Friends”
How to Build Social-First Data Visualizations — RJI
How AI Can Elevate Every Media Salesperson to Be a Better Marketing Consultant — E&P
Time’s AI-Only Ads May Be Marketing’s Next Frontier — MarTech
PRESS FREEDOM & MEDIA LAW
NEFAC Suing the Narragansett Police Department for Public Records
Three Years After Police Raid on Kansas Newspaper, Reporter Settles Lawsuit for $850K
Oppressive Freelance Contracts Add to the Chill on Journalism — Freedom of the Press Foundation
Has the Supreme Court Rendered the First Amendment’s Press Clause Invisible? — SCOTUSblog
Stars and Stripes Journalists Facing Firing Get 1-Week Reprieve — Politico
New Hampshire Journalist Damien Fisher to Receive Freedom of Information Award
News/Media Alliance Statement on Google Ad Tech Remedies Ruling
How Mass Surveillance From Online Advertising Puts Journalists at Risk — CPJ