Today, the News Impact Project celebrates its one-year anniversary. Thanks to this program, we’ve highlighted hundreds of news stories from our members and other local news publishers showcasing the amazing impact local news has on their communities.
A 2018 study found that when communities lose their local newspapers, city finances are dealt a major blow. This is why the work done by the Jackson (Tenn.) Sun is especially important and impactful. A series of investigative news stories published in late 2019 follow reporter Adam Friedman as he explored the city’s revenue and expenses, as well as the loans it was taking out to maintain the city, revealing a situation he calls “absurd.”
When we think of how news impacts our lives, we often think of information: We learn about road closures, legislation that will affect our community, or even residents of interest who we want to know more about. But sometimes, lightning strikes and the impact of a news story is immediate and concrete. That’s the case with one particular story from Charlotte, North Carolina’s WFAE, a local FM radio station.
News stories don’t have to be deep, investigative reports or articles that create legislative change to make an impact. It’s true that communities need watchdogs, but impact can be created by stories of all kinds, from notices of local road closures to human-interest stories about unknown neighbors and vibrant local residents.For Evergreen, Colorado’s Canyon Courier, its stories of local kids and teens felt the most impactful.
On April 20, 1999, Columbine High School suffered a tragedy unlike anything most people had experienced at that time. What happened in that small Colorado town reverberated across the country and around the globe, making people everywhere stop and pay attention. Twenty years later, Columbine feels like the start of an epidemic to many people – but to those still living there, the only option is to continue moving forward every day. When the anniversary approached last year, the editors at the Canyon Courier knew they couldn’t let the 13 innocent people who lost their lives that day be forgotten by their neighbors.
Focusing on the impact journalism has doesn’t only affect the community, but the newsroom, as well. Guest blogger Anjanette Delgado discusses how a focus on impact can create new roles for journalists, and new ways of thinking about how we run our newsrooms.
While all journalism makes an impact, not all journalism is designed with impact in mind. Guest blogger Anjanette Delgado explored what would happen if journalists considered their impact during the process of researching and writing their stories, and how that can play out for the reporters and the community they serve.
Most journalists get into the business to help make a difference in their communities, whether that means reporting on the local school board or the president of the United States. But how many of us actually discuss the differences our reporting makes with our readers? It’s a practice that more publishers and journalists should tackle.
Did you miss our webinar on January 21, 2020? Do you want to learn about the News Impact Project and how you can start tracking impact in your newsroom? Here you’ll find video of the webinar, all the slides presented, and links to all the resources and stories discussed during the presentation.
“A new subscriber called to tell us that she subscribed because of this story,” Joellen Easton, audience director for the Bangor Daily News, told us when she submitted this story to the News Impact Project. That’s the kind of reaction from readers we all hope our journalism will produce, which is what makes this story, “Mass eviction in Portland to uproot low income families,” such a perfect fit for the News Impact Project.
