Knight at ONA24: Research, AI, elections support and more
Meet us at the Knight Lounge at ONA for great programming and a tour of Macon
Our annual pilgrimage to the Online News Association (ONA) conference will take place this week in Atlanta. Knight’s entire journalism team will be there, so it will be a great chance to connect with new and old friends and colleagues.
I have not missed an ONA conference since 2005, and am proud to have served on ONA’s board for a decade and as its president for two years. I’m also proud that Knight Foundation will once again be a presenting sponsor. ONA’s annual conference provides a unique opportunity for digital innovators and newsroom leaders to learn from each other and advance the field, and it’s also an amazing place for attendees to catch up with others trying to tackle the same challenges. And this year, we are bringing you some fantastic programs. Here are the highlights.
Knight Lounge
We invite you to join us in the Knight Lounge in Hanover C on the exhibit level, which is the same level as registration. Open Thurs., Sept. 19 at 8 a.m. until Fri., Sept. 20 at 5 p.m., you’ll find cell phone chargers as well as healthy snacks to grab and go. You may have heard us talk about the value of sustainable journalism (just a few times), and this year we have dedicated this lounge to sustaining you. So stay and relax for a while if you can.
We have a number of guests who will present in the lounge and we hope you will swing by to see them. Some highlights include lunch on Thursday with the research team at Pew Research Center—on behalf of the Pew-Knight Initiative (PKI)—who will present their most recent findings about Americans’ attitudes and behaviors around news consumption; a session presented by Perspectives offering an opportunity to explore how Atlanta’s Black culture is grappling with the rise of generative AI; and more than have a dozen sessions planned by the Knight Election Hub, including Investigative Improv and Elections Lightning Talks.
You can find a full and up-to-date schedule of programming here.
Breakout Sessions
Beyond that we are focused on two important topics: 1) the growing influence of social media content creators; and 2) the new and ever-changing funding models that are revitalizing local news.
Thursday, Sept. 19 at noon: “Redefining News In The Age Of Social Media”
Meet former Fox, CBS and Bloomberg news producer-turned-social media creator Mo Oinounou and author/content creator Blair Imani, and learn about the most recent PKI data on which social media channels Americans turn to for news.
Friday, Sept. 20 at 4 p.m.: “Local News Renaissance”
Press Forward’s Dale Anglin will join DuBose Porter of the Georgia Trust for Local News and Jess King at the Steinman Institute for Civic Engagement for an in-depth discussion on new philanthropic models that are retooling local news.
Macon: A Knight City Experience
This year, hosting the event in Atlanta offers ONA attendees an additional treat. Just 90 minutes away lies Macon, “one of the South’s best-kept secrets,” according to Forbes. As one of 26 Knight cities, Macon has much to offer. Knight is bringing a taste of Macon’s unique culture to ONA with the Macon Music Revue band. Their performance at the ONA opening reception on Wednesday will include locally developed hits from Macon legends such as Little Richard, Otis Redding and the Allman Brothers Band, delving deep into the catalog of Capricorn Records, which has been producing music since the 1960s.
I’ve visited Macon five times over the last three years and I can tell you first-hand that it’s a special place. Visit Macon invites you to join a special tour on Sat., Sept. 21, to experience a former ghost town that now boasts craft brewpubs and a thriving culinary and live music scene. Plus, visit the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, representing more than 12,000 years of continuous human habitation. We’re proud to showcase how collaboration, planning and strategic philanthropic investment have revitalized Macon. Click here to register if you are interested in experiencing one of 2024’s Great American Main Street award-winning downtowns. Space is limited.
I am looking forward to seeing you at ONA24!
Other news around the horn…
Investments
💸 AJP makes bold bets in Los Angeles, Texas. Expand existing news outlets or build from scratch? That’s been the question that’s vexed many funders as they consider fertilizing news deserts around the country. For the American Journalism Project (AJP), they have a history of doing both, and recently highlighted each approach with large investments in Los Angeles and Texas. In L.A., they collaborated with local, regional and national funders to raise $15 million to launch a series of new nonprofit newsrooms to “provide coverage at neighborhood, regional, and state levels in service of L.A. communities.” The new initiative will operate Boyle Heights Beat, a bilingual community newsroom, launch new similar community publications and also invest in LAist and CalMatters to better cover the city. Meanwhile, AJP invested $2.75 million in the Texas Tribune to launch a network of community newsrooms, starting with Waco and Austin. In some communities, the Tribune will also consider acquiring existing newsrooms. “Our plan is to grow a network of local newsrooms that will lead to stronger news ecosystems across the state, empowering and building trust with more Texans,” wrote Texas Tribune CEO Sonal Shah.
💬 Microsoft invests in Rural News Network to improve election coverage. It’s great for nonprofit newsrooms in the Rural News Network (RNN) to create voter guides for the upcoming elections. It’s even better if those guides can reach people via text message, print and even in-person town halls. Thanks to an investment from Microsoft’s Democracy Forward program, RNN, which is run by the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), will be able to expand its Text RURAL service to 35 newsrooms. The network is also helping Spotlight PA geo-target Facebook ads promoting its voter guide, and giving South Dakota News Watch the means to translate its voter guide into Spanish, along with televising a statewide town hall. “The money and resources Microsoft is generously providing means local news leaders can effectively adapt their guides to maximize reach,” said Alana Rocha, who leads the RNN as INN’s director of collaborations and rural initiatives.
📷 CatchLight, Report for America expand visual journalism partnership. News deserts are missing vital reporting on communities—including photos and visual stories. The CatchLight Local Visual Desk, with funding by Knight Foundation and others, in partnership with Report for America (RFA), has been trying to change that with photography fellows placed in newsrooms in California, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Georgia. Now the partnership is investing in 20 more fellows across the country for 2025, with funding to cover 50 percent of their salaries in the first year, 33 percent in the second year and 20 percent in the third. CatchLight provides host newsrooms with tools, training and editing support for visual journalism, while RFA provides training, mentoring and fundraising support for newsrooms. “The partnership with CatchLight and RFA, and having someone as talented as staff photographer Pablo Unzueta, has really helped us see how critical visuals are to serving underrepresented communities. They literally get to see themselves reflected in the stories,” said Erika Carlos, editor in chief of El Tecolote. Interested newsrooms can apply by October 21 to host a fellow.
Policy
🤑 Ad spending, without transparency, grows from Federal agencies. Wouldn’t it be great for the U.S. government to commit a portion of all the ad spending to smaller local news outlets around the country? The problem is that Federal agencies haven’t been transparent about how they’re spending ad money. That’s the big takeaway from a study from Rebuild Local News that found that Federal agencies have doubled their ad spend from 2018 to 2023, but won’t disclose whether they spend it on tech platforms or local news outlets. The Department of Defense leads the spending through recruitment ads with $1.1 billion spent last year alone. The government lets the public see contracts with ad agencies, but not where those ads are placed. “Under-served communities and their local media outlets may be left out or disadvantaged as a result of this lack of transparency,” the report concluded. “Pushing government agencies to make greater efforts to reach a broader range of outlets can often produce positive results for community news.”
Research
🇫🇮 Finnish research unpacks winning strategy for local news. Finland might not be an obvious place to learn about what makes local news successful, but 69 percent of Finns say they trust the media, with 81 percent trusting local newspapers, according to the Digital News Report 2024. Reuters Institute fellow Hanna Käyhkö, who is also editor-in-chief of the Karjalan Heili newspaper, released a research paper on just what’s working in Finland. Her tips include aggregating public data, providing more digital ad support to businesses, and using AI for document analysis, creating social media posts and personalizing newsletters. “By generating relevant local content, leveraging technology, and fostering community engagement, local news outlets can remain indispensable to their readers,” she concludes. “By staying attuned to the needs and preferences of the audience, local news can not only survive but thrive in the digital era.” You can dig deeper into her full report here.
Communications
🎶 Oklahoma turns to “Schoolhouse Rock”-style song to pitch local news. No matter how many barrels of ink are spilled in coverage of the crisis in the local news industry, the majority of Americans still think the industry is doing just fine, thank you. So how do we change public opinion and build support for local news outlets? The folks at the Oklahoma Media Center (OMC) turned to a “Schoolhouse Rock”-style song by a local country artist, Mike Hosty, along with the requisite animated video. “Free Press Isn’t Free” is certainly catchy with lines like, “Keepin’ an eye on the bureaucrats / verified sources, verified facts… It’s important to you / It’s important to me / Talkin’ about all our liberties / ‘cause the free press isn’t free.” But the OMC went further, creating a news literacy campaign with stipends to newsrooms to publish the video and promote it through paid social media campaigns. “We’re asking newsrooms to end with a call to action with a trustworthy individual urging citizens to donate, subscribe or advertise to support their local news organizations,” said Rob Collins, executive director of the OMC. Hopefully the toe-tapping song can lead to some money thrown into the tip jar.
Jobs
Los Angeles Local News Initiative, CEO, Executive Editor and more
Learn more here.
EdSource, CEO
Learn more here.
The Marshall Project, Chief Development Officer
Learn more here.
Journalism Funding Partners, Director of Operations
Learn more here.
ProPublica, Senior Editor, Local Reporting Network
Learn more here.
Training
How to Transform Casual Readers into Loyal Supporters
Indiegraf
Free and online
September 26 at 2 pm ET
Fellowships
Chauncey Bailey Journalist of Color Investigative Reporting Fellowship
IRE
Investigative program with stipends for travel
Apply by September 21
McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism
McGraw Center
Grants up to $15,000
Apply by October 6
Research and writing on AI policy
$10,000 stipend
Apply by October 15
Upcoming Events 📅
Free Speech at the Crossroads: A Silicon Valley Dialogue
San Jose, Calif.
September 18–20
Online News Association (ONA24)
Atlanta
September 18–21
Local Media Association (LMA) Fest
Chicago
September 24–25
Keane, NH
September 25–26
News Product Alliance (NPA) Summit
Online
October 11
Hacks/Hackers Baltimore AI Hackathon
Baltimore
October 17–19
JFunders: Journalism Funders Gathering
San Francisco
October 22–23
Hacks/Hackers Berkeley AI Hackathon
Berkeley, Calif.
October 25–27
Quote of the Week
“With more than 130,000 newsletter subscribers and 2.7 million pageviews a month, Block Club Chicago exemplifies how savvy journalism can thrive in a major metropolis. Over the past 12 months, they have made exceptional progress through strategic investments. Operationally, they doubled the headcount of their revenue team and created specialized departments aligned with their primary revenue streams.”
—The judges’ comments on Block Club Chicago, which recently won the LION Business of the Year Award in the medium/large revenue tier
News @ Knight Credits
Written by Jim Brady, with Mark Glaser
Edited by Jim Brady, Jessica Clark and Kara Pickman