Matt DeRienzo | Nieman Journalism Lab

Articles by Matt DeRienzo

Matt DeRienzo (@mattderienzo) is editor of Digital First Media’s publications in Connecticut, including the New Haven Register, The Middletown Press, The Register Citizen and Connecticut Magazine.

One issue will dominate election coverage in both red and blue states

“Will a multiracial democracy survive an assault without precedent over the past 60 years? Have we ever really had an even playing field in access to voting and political representation?”

Historical context will improve local journalism

“If historical context about racial discrimination is on the checklist for every story journalists pursue, it will change how we write about labor, education, health care, transportation, crime, technology, and the environment.”

Citizen truth brigades steer us back toward reality

“The people who run and rely upon basic community institutions will increasingly recognize how much they rely upon a common understanding of objective truth.”

Local broadcasters begin to fill the gaps left by newspapers

“Broadcasters have an opportunity to gain some of the local market share being ceded by newspaper companies who failed to confront their own crisis before it was too late.”

A recession, then a collapse

“The last recession was brutal for newspapers and local news. The next one could be an extinction-level event, especially for small dailies owned by big corporate chains that have pillaged local newsrooms and local leadership.”

November 14, 2014

In a rush to maintain profits, newspapers are abandoning the art of customer service

The chase for short-term gain is undercutting local papers’ long-term position in the community — the one asset national outlets and tech companies can’t match, argues a former editor at Digital First Media.

May 23, 2014

Newsrooms need HR specialists, not just technologists, in top leadership

Not in the rote, paperwork-and-process sense of HR. Newsrooms aren’t good enough at finding, using, and improving the talents of their staffs.