In newsrooms across the country, editors bear heavy responsibilities — leading the newsroom, determining what stories should be told and who is best positioned to tell them, challenging assertions, developing talent, elevating journalism — all while maintaining an unwavering commitment to the public’s interest. Their names may not always be as familiar as bylined reporters or celebrated columnists, but their insight, experience and leadership are indispensable. We hope you enjoy meeting this exemplary group of E&P’s 2023 Editors Extraordinaire.
Newspapers save lives. Many newspapers are recognized as vital local institutions in their communities, but how many can literally say they have saved a life? The Somers Record (one of six local newspapers owned by Halston Media) helped a critical local patient find a needed kidney.
The past few years have been remarkable for news media publishers, which have enjoyed some particularly public and powerful support. While champions for local news in the U.S. Congress have been hard at work, powerful forces have been running a counteroffensive — undermining the press, impeding access and making it easier for members of the public and political class to sue news organizations.
The Black-owned and operated New York Amsterdam News covers local, national and international news, including politics, Black wealth, education, religion, Black history, sports, arts and entertainment, and news about unions. It also has an investigative team and mission, “Blacklight.”
With costs rising, many publications are looking for ways to cut down on expenses in order to increase ROI. One such strategy for decreasing expenditure might be a reduction in print frequency, but publications must consider the effects of such a change on their brand and audience. Changing your print frequency is a question that should be carefully considered.
How do you sustain a long history as a community institution with a reputation for integrity and journalistic excellence but also innovate without losing or damaging what has been built? An innovation that has already proven its value to the Richmond Times-Dispatch newsroom, readers and advertisers is a full-service video studio installed in 2020 — and in the middle of the fourth-floor offices.
The evolution of the newspaper industry is occurring in real time. It’s been painful for some and a wake-up call for others to change their business model, explore new revenue streams and, in the process, discover how to be more visible and supportive in their communities. Many publishers, especially in local news operations, are realizing the value of evolving from a traditional subscription model to a membership model for their business, local citizens and the community.
Distrust between Pittsburgh's diverse communities and the media is a significant problem identified in an American Press Institute pilot program, which implemented an Inclusion Index developed by Letrell Deshan Crittenden, Ph.D. A Jan. 24 event at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in Pittsburgh drew media and community members who spoke about improving coverage.
The Economic Hardship Reporting Project is a nonprofit organization that supports independent journalists financially, editorially and through co-publishing efforts with renowned media outlets. EHRP Executive Director Alissa Quart says: "We’re changing how people in media work with working-class people and with the concepts around inequality and social class.”
The days of journalists swooping into a local community or neighborhood to gather the news and then returning to work in isolation in a downtown newsroom have ended for many newspapers. The Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer is the latest to follow that trend with its mobile newsroom.