Medill State of Local News with Tim Franklin

In the ninth episode of the State of Local News Podcast, host Tim Franklin—Professor, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News and founding director of the Medill Local News Initiative—speaks with Melissa Bell, CEO of Chicago Public Media, home to one of the nation's most unique models for local news: the combination of a public radio outlet and a legacy newspaper.

Two years ago this month, Bell took over as head of Chicago Public Media, the nonprofit parent organization of NPR member station WBEZ and the iconic Chicago Sun-Times. She joins Tim Franklin to discuss how Chicago Public Media is bringing together NPR member station WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times under a nonprofit model.

Bell co-founded Vox.com and later served as publisher of Vox Media, overseeing Vox, The Verge, Eater, and SB Nation. She helped guide Vox's acquisition of New York Magazine. Earlier in her career, she worked on digital strategy at The Washington Post and helped launch Mint, a business newspaper in India. She has also served as a visiting fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University. In 2025, Bell was inducted into the Medill Hall of Achievement, the school's highest honor for graduates.

In this episode, she reflects on the challenges of integrating two different news cultures and the financial decisions required to build a sustainable news organization with a revenue model that includes philanthropy, memberships, sponsorships and print subscriptions, as well as its efforts to grow its audience across radio, print, digital, podcasts, YouTube and social platforms.

Bell also discusses the future of public media, the challenges of declining traditional audiences and Chicago Public Media’s experiment with Chicago.com as a new community platform.

In the eighth episode of the State of Local News Podcast, host Tim Franklin—Professor, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, and founding director of the Medill Local News Initiative—speaks with Eric Barnes, CEO of The Daily Memphian.

Barnes joins Tim Franklin to discuss how The Daily Memphian has become one of the country's most successful local digital news organizations. He explains how the nonprofit has built a diverse revenue model centered on subscriptions, advertising, events and philanthropy, and why he believes nonprofit news organizations can—and in many cases should—charge readers for their journalism.

The conversation explores The Daily Memphian's launch in competition with The Commercial Appeal, its paywall and subscription strategy, the challenges of declining search and social media traffic and how the organization is approaching AI. Barnes also discusses the state of the local news industry and why he remains optimistic about the value of trusted local journalism.

In the seventh episode of the State of Local News Podcast, host Tim Franklin—Professor, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, and founding director of the Medill Local News Initiative—speaks with P.J. Browning, CEO of Evening Post Publishing and president and publisher of The Post and Courier.

Browning joins Tim Franklin to discuss how The Post and Courier has become one of the country’s most innovative local news organizations by expanding to nine newsrooms across South Carolina while many news companies have downsized. She explains the organization’s strategy for building sustainable local journalism through community-focused reporting, philanthropic support, audience growth and public engagement.

The conversation explores how the family-owned company has raised more than $8 million in philanthropic funding, launched its statewide investigative journalism project “Uncovered,” to highlight local corruption and official misconduct, created Charleston Porch Talks to deepen community engagement and developed a newsroom model centred on serving local communities with local journalists. Browning also shares her leadership philosophy, discusses how artificial intelligence is improving newsroom efficiency and explains why ownership structure, innovation and execution have been central to the organization’s success

Friedlich joins Tim Franklin on the State of Local News Podcast to reflect on the Lenfest Institute's decade-long journey to becoming one of the most influential journalism organizations in the country: investing more than $117 million in more than 600 news organizations and initiatives to support local news innovation, business sustainability and newsroom transformation. He also discusses The Philadelphia Inquirer's digital transformation, the growing role of nonprofit ownership in local news, challenges facing commercial news organizations today and how AI is reshaping journalism. Friedlich discusses why local news organizations must embrace emerging technologies while continuing to invest in trusted reporting, sustainable business models and serving the community’s information needs.

What does it mean to "use the whole buffalo" in local journalism? For Axios Local Executive Editor Holly Moore, it means finding ways to adapt reporting across platforms while maintaining strong community connections and sustainable business models. In this episode, Moore joins Tim Franklin to discuss Axios Local's expansion across 37 markets in the United States, the philosophy behind smart brevity, the future of local news newsletters, and how AI can help journalists focus more of their time on reporting and serving audiences.

Katherine Maher, president and CEO of NPR, joins Tim Franklin to discuss the future of public media in a rapidly changing local news landscape. Maher reflects on NPR’s recent restructuring, the impact of federal funding cuts, and the role of local stations in rebuilding civic trust. The conversation also explores NPR’s investment in digital and video storytelling, and why public media remains essential infrastructure for communities across America.

In this episode of the Medill State of Local News Podcast, Tim Franklin speaks with journalist and podcaster Chuck Todd about the collapse and reinvention of local news in America. Todd reflects on why trust in national media has eroded, arguing that it was always rooted in local journalism. He discusses emerging business models, from cooperatives to membership and ad networks, and explores how community-driven reporting—especially youth sports and service journalism—can rebuild audience engagement and civic trust.

In this episode of the State of Local News Podcast, host Tim Franklin, Professor, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, and founding director of the Medill Local News Initiative speaks with  Ben Cotton, General Manager for News at The New York Times.

They discuss:

• The shift from advertising to a subscription-first model
• The rise of product bundles (games, cooking, sports, Wirecutter)
• How product, data, and user experience drive engagement and retention
• The role of video, creators, and younger audiences in the future of news
• Why building direct relationships with readers matters more than ever

In the inaugural episode of the State of Local News Podcast, host Tim Franklin, Professor, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, and founding director of the Medill Local News Initiative, sits down with Steve Grove, CEO and publisher of the Minnesota Star Tribune.

In this conversation, they discuss:

• Grove’s unconventional journey from Google executive to leading one of the nation’s largest regional newsrooms

• How AI, declining digital traffic, and shifting audience habits are reshaping the local news industry

• The Star Tribune’s coverage of Operation Metro Surge,—a major federal immigration enforcement operation launched in Minneapolis in December 2025—and how it helped build trust with audiences in real time