Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media

We had a great time at the 2025 NC Local News & Information Summit last week! A big thank you to all who participated in our sessions, the attendees who created a collaborative and supportive environment and the dream team of Shannan Bowen, Sarah Day Owen Wiskirchen and Catherine Komp for organizing a great event! The CISLM team was there as participants, but also as presenters: ? How we built a chatbot — should you build one, too? Local News Researcher Yanan Sun and Project Manager Sarah Vassello led attendees through a practical session on thinking through AI product development and creation. (P.S. you can use our chatbot, Local News Audience Assistant, on CISLM.org: https://lnkd.in/dcSiikJ7) ?? Imagining the future for rural community/news collaboration: Interim Director Jessica Mahone helped facilitate a group conversation about rural news needs and potential collaborations to serve communities, alongside Eli Flournoy, Benjy Hamm and Luke Boutwell. #ncnews #localnews #AI #research #ruralcommunities

I’m so happy to see this research project out into the world! Important, relevant, timely work by the excellent Yanan Sun, and of course, strong teamwork from Jessica Mahone and Sarah Vassello.

?? New Research: When Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina, local news was there. Our latest CISLM report found that in the immediate aftermath, original local reporting produced 77% of articles published rather than republished from wire services. 84% of local newspaper articles about Hurricane Helene included actionable information on critical topics like: ??? Roadways & transportation (53%) ? Power restoration (45%) ?? Where to get food & water (38%) Over the course of a disaster and its recovery,?journalists often transition from disseminators of fast, factual information in an emergency to accountability reporters. Following natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and storms, journalists raise accountability questions to authorities about prevention and response actions. ?? By Local News Researcher Yanan Sun, read the full report on CISLM.org ?? #LocalNews #DisasterResponse #JournalismMatters #HurricaneHelene #MediaResilience

Excited to be presenting on AI Chatbot building at the NC News & Information Summit with Sarah Vassello! Looking forward to sharing insights and learning from an incredible group of local journalists, researchers, and community leaders. If you're attending, I'd love to connect. See you there!

Excited to host this event with experts such as American Press Institute's Elite Truong, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media graduate Lauren Berry of Bloomberg, McClatchy's Tyler Dukes, APCO's Iris Shaffer and Amy Mitchell at the Center for News Technology and Innovation. Thanks to The University of Kansas KU J-School Steve Bien-Aime, moderator extraordinaire, for helping me to plan this pre-event before the Local News Researchers Workshop. Join us online for a conversation about AI & the Future of Local News!

?? AI is transforming journalism — are you ready to explore its impact? Join us for the AI and the Future of Local News pre-conference on March 24, a virtual event hosted by UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media’s Knight Chair in Local News and Sustainability Marisa Porto, MBA. This pre-conference will bring together researchers, journalists and industry leaders to discuss: ?? Best practices for integrating AI in newsrooms ?? The business and ethical implications of AI in journalism ?? The future of AI-powered storytelling ?? Date: March 24, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET ?? Location: Virtual — Register below to attend! This is a must-attend event for anyone interested in the intersection of AI and journalism. Secure your spot today! #LocalNews #AI #JournalismResearch

Enlace Latino NC is seeking a new Director of Development. Details below!

Thrilled to announce that my workshop submission has been accepted for the Local News Researchers Workshop 2025! ?? The workshop is organised by the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy at Duke University and the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. I’m particularly excited as this marks my first-ever trip to the U.S.! ???? Looking forward to connecting with researchers from around the globe at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I’ll be presenting on methods to assess the state of local journalism, sharing insights from my PhD research on conducting large-scale local news text analysis. Find out more about the event here: https://lnkd.in/dEhbfNcN If you’re attending, I’d love to connect!

?? What do small publishers need to succeed in advertising? Tiny News Collective and Rebuild Local News tackled this question and created a playbook to help small and emerging newsrooms navigate the complexities of advertising. Through extensive research, they identified key barriers — and solutions — to help local publishers build sustainable revenue models. Key takeaways from the playbook: ?? Many small publishers struggle with limited time and resources to sell ads effectively. ??? They need better tools, templates and automation to streamline ad operations. ?? Publishers should lean into what makes their publication special: a trusted relationship with a desirable audience. This playbook serves as a practical guide to help small publishers monetize their work, connect with advertisers and build stronger business models — all while staying focused on serving their communities. (ICYMI: If you like this playbook, be sure to check out our Buyers Unfiltered report, which sheds light into how local ad buyers make decisions, and their plans to buy in the coming years: https://lnkd.in/eZ7kgPe8) ?? Check out the full playbook and insights ?? #LocalNews #NewsRevenue #Advertising #MediaSustainability

What a pleasure to be featured by the UNC Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media! A huge thank you to the Center for sharing this with me the other day, it was so exciting to see it (and I can't believe I completely missed it - it was published nearly a year ago!). A year later and I stand by my points about the critical need to study, fund, and advocate for local journalism. Perhaps even more so now. Local news is an essential tool of democracy, and I am excited to see where the field of local news research is headed in supporting the important democratic goals and functions of local journalism. Anyway if you read to the end of the Q&A you get rewarded with me embarrassingly talking about my old pub trivia team Last Place. Miss those friends!!!!!!