First off, this is the second-to-last issue of our weekly newsletter for this year! That means I have an ask for you: Send me your favorite media criticism from this year via this form. (It doesn’t have to be from us. But we’d be flattered!) We’d love to include those pieces in a round-up we’ll publish during our last newsletter of 2025.
Now, in this week’s issue: Two new stories, one from our Civic Media Series. Hyperlocal journalism is integral to the industry, argues College Park Here & Now associate editor Jalen Wade. And Andrea Wenzel writes on thinking beyond “DEI” to create equitable news.
Our media round-up covers the latest numbers on global press killings, Rolling Stone layoffs, snafus with WaPo’s newest AI product, a new resource for local newsrooms, and a professor seeking ideas for updating the Society of Professional Journalists’ ethics code.
—James Salanga
LABOR
The decline of local journalism removes a future for the industry
Photo courtesy of Jalen Wade.
“Hyperlocal and local journalists like me tell stories for smaller communities that may not have ‘national significance’, but are important to the people in these towns and areas,” writes College Park Here & Now associate editor Jalen Wade.
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CIVIC MEDIA SERIES
Thinking beyond ‘DEI’ to make equitable media
Residents of Morristown, N.J. gather with journalists at a 2017 Free Press event to discuss how to strengthen local news. Photo courtesy of Timothy Karr, illustration work by Erik Rodriguez.
For our Civic Media series, Temple University associate professor Andrea D. Wenzel looks at how a de facto rolling back of workplace diversity initiatives was already underway before the 2024 elections, and questions what an equitable media ecosystem in this environment could look like.
Get your civic media magazine today!
In a new collaboration between The Objective and News Futures, 14 practitioners share their perspectives on building local, participatory, and durable information systems for the next decade.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
A bit more media
🗞️ Israel responsible for killing at least 86 journalists in 2025: That number is higher than last year’s (85) and includes deaths after the ceasefire in Gaza, per the latest data on 2025’s global press killings from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
🧾 Rolling Stone layoffs impact Black writers: Brittany Spanos and Andre Gee are among the latest writers impacted by the publication’s merger with VIBE in October, which also saw many VIBE employees losing their jobs.
🤖 WaPo AI-generated “personal podcast” feeds readers fabrications: Less than 48 hours after the product was released on the app, multiple sources told Semafor their “personal podcasts” contained errors ranging from pronunciation to significant story deviations.
🖥️ New help desk aims to support local newsroom sustainability: The Reynolds Journalism Institute, in partnership with the Local Media Consortium, is building the News Media Help Desk for local newsrooms to centrally access resources, vetted tools, and fractional services.
💡 Journalism professor seeks your ideas for updating SPJ ethics code: Eric Duggans is among the committee members updating the code, which has not been revised since 2014, and asked for newsletter reader feedback.
Have a story you think we should include in this section of next week’s newsletter? Let us know here or by responding to this email.
JOURNALISM IN A GRAF
Quote of the week
“As much as this is a country of free speech, it doesn’t really apply to international students. I don’t have as much free speech as a U.S. student would have, for example, as crazy as it is to say that. That’s something that has to be kept in mind.”
Thanks for reading. We’ll have more for you next week.
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