Sarah Stonbely | Nieman Journalism Lab

Articles by Sarah Stonbely

February 22, 2024

Wealthier, urban Americans have access to more local news

But roughly half of U.S. counties have only one news outlet or less.

Growth in public funding for news and information at the state and local levels

“By taking these efforts down to the state level, we are able to engage people in a way that’s not possible when hyperpartisan politicians in Washington DC are fighting over Big Bird.”

Newsrooms and civil society organizations team up

“Though not (yet?) very common in the U.S., projects involving both journalists and civil society organizations — usually advocacy groups, though not always — are a fast-growing trend globally.”

Videoconferencing brings more geographic diversity

“With the distance allowed by ubiquitous videoconferencing, people in more remote locations or with less access to power are now just as accessible as the think tank two subway stops away.”

More people start caring about news inequality

“News inequality matters in the same way that unequal access to education matters: Without trustworthy, reliable local and national journalism, the democratic political system breaks down.”

Mapping the local news ecosystem — with scale but detail

“In addition to seeing from 30,000 feet, we also need to be able to zoom in and know a journalism landscape as it exists from the vantage of those who live there.”

December 5, 2018

There isn’t one best way to map local news ecosystems. But can we do it better?

“Despite the volume of research currently under way about news ecosystems, there is no gold standard.”