In the news

In Atlanta, where Capital B established its first local newsroom, Capital B reporter Chauncey Alcorn and his colleagues have been traversing the city, talking to Black voters.

Promising initiatives are budding around the country, but we need more of them. Philanthropy-fueled initiatives like Report for America and the American Journalism Project can help rebuild newsrooms...Communities that have seen their news downsized can collaborate to establish nonprofit outlets as the Ohio Local Information Initiative has.

Like a lot of folks, I have been thinking quite a bit lately about how to shore up our democracy. We voted in November, and that seems to have gone pretty well. But after voting, what’s next? In this season of giving I have a modest suggestion: Support your local news organization.

“The launch of Signal Cleveland is one of the largest launches of its kind in the country and it's part of a new generation of news organizations that are emerging across the country to fill the void of the decline of local news. This effort is really exciting..."

There are few staff to monitor Nebraska’s vast swaths of farmland, thousands of cattle feedlots, large hog operations and chicken farms. And the agencies’ own regulations don’t give the staff many tools to combat malpractice.

The demise of local news is by no means inevitable. In the last few years, a surprising good-news story has emerged that offers a hopeful antidote to the struggling local media industry. Powered by foundations and individual donors, promising examples of nonprofit news organizations across the country are showing how to turn the tide.

VTDigger has promoted Paul Heintz and Maggie Cassidy to its top newsroom positions. Heintz will serve as editor-in-chief and Cassidy as managing editor.

I recently spoke with Carla Minet, a journalist and executive director of the Center for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico, about what life is like on the island now and the key role of information in disaster response.

Robert Adams alleges that a guard assaulted him with a baton. A year-long investigation into his story uncovered a system plagued by retaliation and primed for abuse.