‘This is Local News Now’ reimagines journalism as a community collaboration, not just a newsroom mission

Our goal is to help journalists see a new way to work within communities — to understand where they can add value alongside civic partners, rather than trying to do it all themselves.”

Anika Anand, co-founder, Commoner

As local news faces one of the most challenging periods in its history, a new report argues that the path forward lies in newsrooms expanding their ideas about how they work and who they work with.

“This Is Local News Now” is the second in a three-part effort by Commoner, a civic media research and strategy group founded by journalists Darryl Holliday and Anika Anand, to help journalism find ways to navigate a changing world and media environment while prioritizing the mission of serving communities. The report was commissioned by Press Forward, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building philanthropic support for local news.

Rather than focusing on business models or tax status, the white paper identifies journalists as a crucial component of a broader information ecosystem that encompasses reporters, librarians, public-access broadcasters, civic organizations, neighborhood social groups and social media creators who share reliable local information.

The authors call all these groups “information stewards,” including local news providers (journalists), civic promoters (libraries, government agencies, elected officials and nonprofits), and community catalysts (business owners and residents). The goal of the report is to help journalists see how to work alongside these groups to create a more responsive, trustworthy information ecosystem. By framing the field this way, they aim to underscore that building a well-informed community depends on diverse contributors working together — not newsrooms working in isolation.

“This is more about the civic information field,” Holliday said. “Journalism has been playing with one foot in the pond for a long time, and this is an effort to help it see how it can expand its work with others who are also information stewards.”

Journalism’s critical role

Among the report’s main insights is that verification, checking facts and establishing credibility in the validity of information, is a unique civic contribution journalists bring to the broader ecosystem.

Darryl Holliday, co-founder, Commoner

“There is a high value — and a growing need — for verification,” Holliday said. “That’s a clear service area for newsrooms. It’s a super clarified space for journalists and our skills. But who else can you work with who is already providing, or can provide, information that’s needed and wanted?”

The report also highlights the need for practical structures to strengthen the broader information ecosystem. Its recommendations include developing standardized methods to assess community information needs and measure impact, as well as improving access to training and support networks for small newsrooms and civic partners.

In addition, Holliday emphasized that it’s imperative for journalists seeking renewal in the profession to engage in discussions around policies impacting the field.

“This isn’t always something journalists do. They keep their heads down and leave that to others,” Holliday said. “If we focus on previous fights and policies, we are losing them now. In this next stage, there will be a chance to rebuild. Journalists should help guide that. The report helps us learn from the past and think seriously about community benefits and not just our business structure.”

Holliday and Anand argue that developing a shared identity across the field — connecting journalists, funders and civic partners — is essential to ensuring communities have reliable access to information. “Identifying each other and finding ways to help these groups see each other as partners is critical,” Anand said.

As part of its efforts to strengthen the civic information field and support newsrooms, Commoner is developing a new tool, Journalism Support Exchange (JSX), scheduled to launch in November. This tool aims to help journalists and community organizations find collaborators and resources in real time.

Holliday and Anand hope their work encourages journalists to see themselves as part of a larger civic information system. “Our goal is to help journalists see a new way to work within communities — to understand where they can add value alongside civic partners, rather than trying to do it all themselves,” Anand said.

Diane Sylvester is an award-winning 30-year multimedia news veteran. She works as a reporter, editor and newsroom strategist. She can be reached at diane.povcreative@gmail.com