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I am on the record as someone who (still) sees promising things happening in local news. I also spent a lot of time recording mass layoffs, furloughs and closures alongside the pandemic starting in 2020 ([link removed]) .
As a media reporter, I work in pretty firm “two things can be true” territory. It can be a rather lonely spot.
So last year, when Neil Brown, Poynter’s president, asked me to take an early look at our latest report on the industry ([link removed]) , I figured I’d only find gloom and doom. I was so happy to be wrong.
“It's time for news organizations to let go — at least a little — of the ‘narrative of loss’ about our business and do a better job of showing the value that journalism is providing in communities around the country,” Brown told me. “We need to let go of conventional but utterly overgeneralized descriptors of things like ‘news fatigue.’ Are they tired of pundits shouting about national news on cable? Yes. Are they fatigued by good local journalism that helps them live their lives? No. Are we to conclude that all journalism is in decline because of economic strain? No. Tough at times — absolutely. But there are new news sites that come online every week. There are content creators adding meaningful work and growing audiences substantially.”
The report, called OnPoynt, isn’t naive or idealistic about what’s facing the news industry, he said.
“But we are only telling part of our own story. An incomplete tale isn't good journalism. OnPoynt aims to fill in the rest of the story and provoke thought about how journalism is a source of value and service — and that's the key to a sustainable future that helps democracy.”
(More below)

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My colleagues at Poynter are working on a new OnPoynt report for this year, and when Brown asked me to ask you all for some success stories, I said, “Sure!” But also, “Can you give us a sneak peek of the new report?”
“We often decry the broad use of the word ‘media’ and how people lump all forms of journalism, all markets, even all platforms into one stunningly imprecise word. I think increasingly the word ‘trust’ is becoming similarly vague and a bit useless,” he said. “It can be code for ‘I agree with.’ So when we see macro surveys that ‘trust in the media’ is at profound lows, I would argue such conventional language is problematic. And all of us in the ‘media’ should quit it — for it perpetuates a false narrative. The concept is right — we need to be transparent and help audience find value in what we do — through principles that are honest. But let's get past lazy shorthand that doesn't add to understanding of how journalism can do better by helping people.”
For this next report, Brown told me, we’re looking to highlight local journalism that provides a service to people and communities and for meaningful audience engagement that gets beyond digital traffic metrics.
“New subscriptions or growth in membership would count as meaningful,” he said. “So would engagement through attendance at events or civic gatherings. Anything that demonstrates the making of relationships between sources or citizens and newsroom staff. And of course there is the essential service of scoops (telling people something they didn't already know or investigative work that led to action). Anything where you can legitimately feel civic participation or customer relationships were deepened or enhanced.”
The idea, he said, isn’t just to celebrate a win, although that’s always worth doing.
“But more importantly, we want to create a marketplace of ideas and journalistic practices that can be replicated elsewhere or inspire service and success in other communities or on other platforms. The essential mission of OnPoynt is to lead, not lament — to share how journalism provides value. That’s something we used to take for granted as a given, but now the audiences have lots of info choices, so we must be cool with making the case for why it matters. We can lament that times are tough or we can lead with the power of our service.”
If your newsroom or another you’re following is doing this work, let me know? I’m off this week to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday, so you’ll get my out-of-office if you reply to this email, but I will follow up next week.
Thanks in advance!
Kristen
(P.S. Next week, I’ll be at Poynter’s Women’s Leadership Academy, so I won’t have a newsletter, but I’ll be back the week after.)
Kristen Hare
Faculty
The Poynter Institute
@kristenhare ([link removed])
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