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MacArthur Foundation Announces $20 Million in Support of Local News

John Fea   |  December 12, 2024

More good news for local journalism. Here is the press release: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today announced $20 million to support newsrooms and provide journalism infrastructure as part of its commitment to revitalize local news. MacArthur launched the Local […]

Why did Fox News lie to its viewers about the 2020 election?

John Fea   |  February 28, 2023

David French offers a theory at his New York Times column: Fox isn’t just the news hub of right-wing America, it’s a cultural cornerstone, and its business model is so successful that it’s more accurate to think of the rest […]

The Author’s Corner with Samantha Barbas

Rachel Petroziello   |  February 27, 2023

Samantha Barbas is Professor of Legal History and Director of the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy at the University at Buffalo School of Law. This interview is based on her new book, Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom […]

Newspapers and democracy

John Fea   |  December 28, 2022

Click the link to Nancy Gibbs’s piece at The Washington Post and spend some time with the interactive map on the declining state of the American newspaper. Here is a taste of the piece: If you’re a Democrat hoping to […]

Fifty local newsrooms opened in the United States during the pandemic

John Fea   |  December 29, 2021

It appears that COVID-19 stimulated local news, especially in Georgia, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, and Florida. Here is a taste of Kristen Hare’s piece at Poynter.com: More than 50 local newsrooms launched in the United States in 2020 and 2021. […]

How is The Atlantic weathering the post-Trump/post-COVID-19 reality?

John Fea   |  July 14, 2021

During the Trump administration, The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog was getting about 10,000 readers a day. That number has declined since the 2020 presidential election. The blog lost some readers when it became part of Current, but the […]

The Washington Post Magazine is looking for local stories

John Fea   |  April 28, 2021

Here: The Washington Post Magazine is looking for journalists to contribute to a special issue about the diminished state of local and community news in the United States. Our goal is not to report on the state of local journalism, […]

When Facebook replaces the local newspaper

John Fea   |  April 6, 2021

The editor of Current, Eric Miller, is a resident of Beaver County, Pennsylvania. I wonder if he knows about The News Alert of Beaver County public Facebook group? I’ll have to ask him. Brandy Zadrony’s piece at NBC News reveals […]