Eighteen months after a devastating wildfire displaced thousands of residents, The Palisadian-Post is back, with a new ownership team, a digital-first strategy and a mission to help rebuild a fractured community. In this E&P Quick Reads report, contributing writer Alyssa Choiniere explores how Tim and Laura Schneider are reviving a beloved local news brand, reconnecting scattered Palisadians and reimagining what community journalism can look like after disaster.

As public media organizations navigate layoffs, shrinking budgets, evolving technology and the loss of federal support, the Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) is building new ways to help journalists connect, learn and adapt. In conversation with PMJA’s Executive Director Christine Paige Diers, E&P’s Editor-in-Chief Gretchen A. Peck explores PMJA’s mission, its professional development opportunities, and its distinctive ability to maintain connections among the public media community.

The Supreme Court’s decision to leave the landmark “actual malice” standard intact may have passed quietly, but its impact on press freedom, public debate and defamation law is enormous. In his latest “Democracy Desk” op-ed, Digital Media Laureate and E&P columnist Stuart N. Brotman explains why the legal doctrine at the heart of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan remains a crucial safeguard against efforts to silence criticism of powerful figures.

When The Valley Independent shut down in 2015, many feared Monessen, Pennsylvania, had lost more than a newspaper. But just four months later, a new publication emerged in its image, thanks to some local community leaders. In this special report, which marks The Mon Valley Independent’s 10th anniversary, E&P’s Tandy Lau explores how the local news brand not only survived the brief closure, but built a new newsroom, compelled subscribers and proved its long-range viability.

trusted relationships with local businesses. Duda gives them the white-label technology to transform those relationships into scalable, recurring digital-services revenue. Its enterprise platform helps media organizations deliver sophisticated websites and online tools that strengthen advertiser retention while helping local businesses attract customers and prosper. The publisher owns the brand and customer relationship; Duda supplies the infrastructure, automation and expertise working powerfully behind the scenes.

Investigative journalism is supposed to make powerful people uncomfortable. But for a 12-person nonprofit newsroom reporting on forced labor, human-rights abuses and environmental wrongdoing, a legal threat can become more than a distraction—it can threaten the organization’s ability to survive. That is why The Outlaw Ocean Project joined Reporters Shield.

As public trust in journalism continues to face historic challenges, the Center for Integrity in News Reporting is recognizing the journalists helping rebuild it — one newsroom at a time. During a remarkable three-week stretch in June, CFINR presented its new $5,000 Integrity in News Reporting Awards to outstanding journalists in six states, marking the program's busiest month since its launch. The awards celebrate reporting that exemplifies fairness, impartiality and objectivity while encouraging news organizations to uphold those same standards. With 22 states now participating, the initiative is quickly becoming one of journalism's fastest-growing recognition programs.

For Scott Anderson, overseeing 11 newsrooms across Louisiana and Arkansas means making hard decisions every day about what his teams can cover—and what they cannot. The Center Square has become a trusted supplemental reporting resource, helping fill gaps in enterprise, economic and local coverage. “They really have been a great extension of our newsroom,” Anderson said.

AI is rapidly reshaping news publishing, but many organizations are still working through what responsible use actually looks like. E&P is putting its own policies and practices to the test by pursuing the Alliance for Audited Media’s Ethical AI Certification. Over the next three months, we will document the journey—from AI governance and disclosure practices to real-world challenges and independent review. The series will conclude in September with a live webinar featuring AAM, E&P, and a publisher that has successfully completed the certification process, offering practical lessons for news organizations of every size.

For local news publishers, keeping websites fresh without overloading already-busy newsrooms is a constant challenge. British Columbia-based Lodestar Media addressed it by integrating syndicated evergreen stories from Stacker into its daily workflow while keeping reporters focused on original local journalism. Over four years, the partnership generated an estimated 1.7 million pageviews, with Stacker-driven traffic increasing 101% year over year—demonstrating how carefully selected syndicated content can complement local reporting, boost audience engagement and extend newsroom capacity without adding staff.

Local publishers are being asked to meet and maintain quality journalism standards with fewer available resources: cover complex policy, hold government to account, grow reader revenue, and stand apart in a crowded market. John Derr, Director of Affiliate Partnerships for The Center Square, thinks a content partner should carry more of that weight. The Center Square’s new Partner Network is built on that premise: not just access to nonpartisan statehouse and public-policy reporting, but the newsroom resources, training, editorial access, and collaboration that help a partner put that reporting to work.

For many community newspapers, public notices remain a reliable source of recurring revenue. But for the law firms, registered agents and government agencies that place those notices, managing publication across multiple newspapers can become a time-consuming administrative challenge. As one North Carolina law firm's experience demonstrates, streamlining that process with Column helped bridge the gap between the service high-volume notice customers need and the recurring revenue publishers want to protect.

In this sponsored E&P interview, Jeremy Fields of Newsmatics discusses the changing nature of media trust, the rise of comparison-based news consumption and how Perspectify — a media transparency platform designed to help readers better understand publishers, ownership, perspectives and source credibility — is helping audiences gain a fuller view of the stories shaping the world.