For years, the local news industry has searched for a sustainable business model while navigating shrinking legacy revenues, rising costs and growing uncertainty. A new report, Meeting the Revenue Challenge: Philanthropy's Role in Local News Growth, examines how nonprofit local news organizations are attempting to build long-term durability through diversified revenue strategies and stronger community relationships.

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https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/inside-the-search-for-a-sustainable-local-news-model-a-new-report-reveals-whats-actually,261560

Journalism is being forced to answer a question it long avoided: why should the public trust it at all? At a moment when credibility is eroding and the definition of a journalist is increasingly blurred, a new industry-wide framework is attempting to reset the standard. The 2026 Oxford Declaration on Journalistic Integrity and Public Trust is not just another set of principles — it is a direct response to a crisis of confidence. And as Steve Herman makes clear, the stakes are no longer theoretical — "the house is on fire and we need to respond to that."

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https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/journalism-at-a-crossroads-a-new-declaration-aims-to-rebuild-trust-in-the-news,261320

E&P Reports went on the road as Mike Blinder hosted a live panel at the New York Press Association's annual spring conference in Saratoga Springs. Joined by newsroom leaders Casey Seiler, Walter Sanchez and Kirstyn Brendlen, along with voices from the audience, the discussion tackled a question at the heart of modern journalism: are we delivering the news audiences want—or the news they truly need?

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https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/what-audiences-want-vs-what-they-need-ep-reports-goes-on-the-road-to-confront-journalisms,261318

In this episode of E&P Reports, we examine one of the most consequential local news stories in the country — the near-collapse and sudden reinvention of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — through separate interviews with two key voices: Andrew Conte, a leading local news advocate and managing director of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University, and Bob Cohn, president and CEO of The Baltimore Banner and The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, the organization now stepping in to lead the paper's future.

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https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/inside-the-pittsburgh-post-gazette-turnaround-what-its-new-owners-plan-next,261214

For decades, local media relied on a simple formula: build audience, and advertisers would follow. Now, Gordon Borrell notes, that formula has quietly failed as the local business landscape and marketing decision-makers have shifted. Service businesses, in-house marketers, and AI-driven tools increasingly control ad spending. Borrell warns traditional media must rethink their sales approach to stay relevant with today's advertisers.

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https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/borrell-why-local-media-advertising-got-harder-to-sell,261030

Investigative journalism has never been easy. But according to the latest State of Accountability Journalism report from the University of Florida's Collier Prize, the reporters doing that work today say the obstacles are growing even as their commitment to watchdog reporting remains strong. Shrinking newsroom staffs, rising costs for public records and increasing resistance from government agencies are making investigations harder to pursue. Yet many journalists say the very pressures threatening accountability reporting are also reinforcing why it matters. As Collier Prize director Rick Hirsch put it, "this is a hard business. If you're going to stick in it, you've got to be committed and believe in the impact that it can have."

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https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/commitment-over-capacity-why-investigative-journalism-persists-despite-shrinking-newsrooms,260965

Rebuilding the statehouse beat: Inside The Center Square's growing newswire model

The decline of traditional newsroom staffing has thinned one of journalism's most important beats: statehouse reporting. As fewer reporters cover legislative chambers and the policy decisions shaping taxpayers' lives, new models have emerged to fill the gap. Among the fastest-growing is The Center Square, a nonprofit newswire focused on government accountability reporting that publisher Chris Krug says was built to address what he sees as a structural hole in the American news ecosystem.

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https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/rebuilding-the-statehouse-beat-inside-the-center-squares-growing-newswire-model,260877

For generations of service members, Stars and Stripes has been known as the soldiers' newspaper, funded by the U.S. government but protected by law to report independently on the military it covers. Now that independence is facing renewed scrutiny. Signals from the Pentagon about refocusing the paper's coverage and internal policy shifts have raised concerns among journalists and press freedom advocates that the Defense Department may be seeking to reshape the mission of one of the world's most unusual news organizations.

Access more at this episode's landing page, at: https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/stars-and-stripes-defends-its-independence-amid-new-pentagon-pressures,260760

The Australian Financial Review once called Rod Sims "the most feared man in Australian business." Big Tech soon learned why. As chair of Australia's competition regulator, Sims helped design the groundbreaking News Media Bargaining Code that forced platforms like Google and Facebook to negotiate payments with publishers. In this conversation with E&P, Sims explores how the policy now sends roughly $250 million a year back to news organizations and what publishers around the world can learn from Australia's fight to make Big Tech pay for journalism.

Access more at this episode's landing page, at:

https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/how-australia-forced-big-tech-to-pay-for-journalism-and-what-publishers-everywhere-can-learn,260630

A new industry survey from the Local Media Consortium (LMC) suggests that while digital revenue across local media remains relatively stable, the path forward is becoming more complicated. One of the most striking findings: the number of publishers identifying audience revenue as a major challenge has surged dramatically year over year. Fran Wills, CEO of the LMC, says the shift doesn't necessarily signal collapse — but it does reflect a new phase of pressure on subscription growth and sustainability. In a conversation with E&P, Wills breaks down what the data reveals about the evolving economics of local journalism and where publishers may need to look next for long-term stability.

Access more at this episode's landing page, at:

https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/new-lmc-report-finds-digital-revenue-stable-as-audience-revenue-pressures-grow,260529