Local news is crucial for keeping communities informed, engaged and active in civic life. Yet, mainstream media often overlook the stories and needs of communities of color, rural areas and other historically underrepresented groups. To build a more equitable society and a strong multiracial democracy, we must rethink how local news serves and represents these communities.
At this year’s Colorado Health Symposium, The Colorado Health Foundation’s annual conference focused on the importance of changing narratives that prevent systemic change. During the second day of the Symposium, I moderated a panel on Strengthening Communities Through Local News. The panel’s discussion centered on how local news shapes community stories and how nonprofits and news media can collaborate to create more inclusive, empowering narratives for everyone in Colorado.
Since we couldn’t address all the questions during the panel, we’re sharing some of the most important insights here.
Missed the panel? You can still watch it on our YouTube Channel.
Our panel featured:
- Melissa Davis – Gates Family Foundation, Colorado Media Project
- Tami Graham – KSUT
- Kim Salvaggio – Rocky Mountain PBS (RMPBS)
- Brittany Winkfield – Ethnic Media Exchange
How do we get local news outlets to cover issues they see as controversial?
Local news outlets may hesitate to cover controversial topics due to fears of not fully understanding complex issues or alienating their audience. Nonprofits can encourage coverage by:
Building relationships: Develop connections with journalists and editors by engaging regularly and showing them why these stories matter to the community. I know this can be challenging, and you might understandably have skepticism toward some media outlets because of incomplete, misleading or even harmful stories that they have published or aired. Some outlets might also be unresponsive or seem uninterested in certain topics. Take some time to do a little research. See which journalists or news outlets are doing good work in your community or around your issue. Then, prioritize your outreach and engagement efforts there – it'll be time better spent than sending out a blanket press release.
Providing data: Share well-researched facts and demonstrate the impact of the issue.
Showing community support, impact and solutions: Petitions, public forums or social media campaigns can demonstrate that there’s significant community interest around your issue. In addition to these big picture strategies, identify three or four people who are willing to share their stories about the issue and/or solutions to it. Prepare them ahead of time to be media representatives so you’re ready if you get the opportunity.
Offering exclusive access - including your own first-person voices: Provide journalists and editors with unique ways of looking at your issue as well as key interviews or early access to make the story more compelling for the outlet. This is also an opportunity to help journalists widen their network of sources. Some newsrooms - like community radio, and some newspapers and digital startups - offer opportunities for community contributions via first-person editorials, interviews or features. Others may aggregate content from the community or provide links to your content. Watch a compelling video from the 2023 Colorado Media Project Summit that features Cultivando Executive Director Olga González who speaks about the power of promotores as local journalism sources for the Hispanic and Latino community. “Promotoras are a direct line of communication with the community — as well as messengers of issues that impact them. They have the credibility and respect of their community. Community will trust what they say over what is reported by the media,” she said during the presentation.
Projects in the Mix!
Amplify Colorado is a publicly accessible directory of experts from communities of color and other diverse communities that newsrooms need to better serve, including, but not limited to, women, youth, elders, LGTBQ+, Coloradans with disabilities, rural residents, veterans, immigrants and refugees. Amplify also includes reporters’ and editors’ contact information so community members can more easily find them.
How do we ensure news shared on social media is trustworthy?
In today’s digital world, it’s crucial that the news shared on social media is reliable. Nonprofits can help by:
Knowing your local news sources, and who you can trust: Increasingly, bad actors are launching websites in communities across the U.S. with the intent to spread disinformation and mislead and divide people. Before sharing a news story from a source you don’t recognize - especially something that feels designed to provoke or enrage you - visit the publication’s home page to learn more. Consider sticking to a few, reliable news sources that you have come to trust, over time, to provide fair, accurate local news.
Promoting media literacy: Educate your community members on how to recognize trustworthy sources and verify information. Use your website and social media channels to share accurate stories and data and to clarify facts when needed. This is one of the ways we at CHF encourage nonprofits and others to use our annual polling data, because our annual Pulse poll is the largest and most racially and ethnically diverse public polls in Colorado. Read more about the latest 2024 data that is free to use and disaggregate through a visualized dashboard.
Encouraging transparency: Advocate for more transparency from social media platforms about how they moderate content and use algorithms. Legislation that frames this as a public health issue - and especially a children’s health issue - is gaining traction in many states, and nationally. Join one of the broad-based coalitions that is demanding better solutions for our online spaces.
Collaborating with trusted outlets: Work with well-respected news organizations to ensure accurate reporting reaches a wider audience. Algorithms promote content that is getting reactions - so if you see good information, give it a like and share it on your social media channels! Colorado Media Project promotes a statewide campaign to tag important stories that demonstrate local impact and solutions with the hashtag #newsCOneeds - try it sometime!
Projects in the Mix!
A new collaboration between several newsrooms, including Colorado Public Radio and CoLab, is called Voter Voices that aims to “reach out to voters and learn what they want candidates to focus on, the issues they are most concerned with in this election, and how much trust they have — or don’t — in the system itself.” Share your thoughts with a host of journalists now on the upcoming elections.
What are some strategies to combat misinformation/disinformation?
Misinformation and disinformation are growing challenges. First, what’s the difference? Misinformation is spread without the intent to deceive, sometimes, misinformation might occur early in a news story when reporters don’t yet know all the facts. Disinformation, on the other hand, is spread with the intent to deceive.
Here are some ways to counter mis/disinformation:
Promote critical thinking: Encourage audiences to question the sources of their information, to consult multiple sources and verify facts.
Publish fact-checked content on your channels: Regularly produce and share fact-checked stories to dispel common myths and misconceptions. Avoid sharing information that is misleading. If you’re not sure if something is accurate, don’t share it.
Be transparent: Clearly label the difference between news, opinion and sponsored content.
Projects in the Mix!
Above the Noise: This is a collaboration between the Colorado Press Association, Colorado Media Project, Colorado State University’s Center for Public Deliberation and Rocky Mountain Public Media. The project is designed to create a stronger Colorado media ecosystem that adapts to and evolves with change, ensures equity in roles, and supports diverse and impactful storytelling through capacity building, community engagement and deeper community connections across Colorado’s 64 counties. Above the Noise is currently hosting a documentary discussion series that features Undivide Us in various Colorado communities.
How do news outlet owners influence coverage, and how can we hold them accountable?
Large corporations own most commercial television and radio stations in the U.S. This type of media owner may not be involved in day-to-day editorial decisions, but they do hold the purse strings that decide how many journalists are covering local news, and how much time they can spend reporting a story. They also set the tone on whether journalists focus on sensationalism - which drives clicks, eyeballs and ad revenue - which in turn impacts what stories are told and how they’re framed. To hold large corporations and local stations accountable, nonprofits can:
Apply public pressure: Use campaigns, petitions and direct engagement to demand high-quality, ethical journalism and diverse coverage in local communities.
Support independent media: Invest in locally owned media outlets that prioritize truth, diversity and integrity.
Advocate for transparency: Push for clearer reporting on media ownership and editorial processes to ensure accountability.
Produce culturally-focused storytelling that can be repurposed by local reporters.
In Colorado, however, more than half of local newspapers, all public radio and TV stations, and many emergent nonprofit and digital news sources are owned and/or managed by local people. They also deserve to hear your feedback - positive or negative - on the impact of their coverage. But for these locally owned or managed outlets, starting with a phone call, email or coffee could also be a first step.
Projects in the Mix!
Native Lens is a film and video project that celebrates and amplifies Indigenous voices. Hosted by KSUT Tribal Media Center and Rocky Mountain PBS, Native Lens provides training and support to both showcase and help produce films by Indigenous filmmakers. “By sharing vibrant works of Indigenous storytelling and cinema, Native Lens seeks to create community by connecting the stories, cultures and histories of Indigenous peoples throughout North America.”
How are panel members supporting or working with Spanish-language news outlets?
We received numerous questions about providing Spanish-language news and promoting bilingual and multicultural engagement. Supporting and growing Spanish-language media is essential for reaching Colorado’s Spanish-speaking communities. This involves:
Providing funding: Offering financial resources to help start and sustain Spanish-language media outlets.
Training journalists: Supporting professional development for journalists who create high-quality Spanish-language content.
Building partnerships: Collaborating with existing Spanish-language media to expand their reach.
Engaging the community: Listening to the needs of Spanish-speaking communities to ensure the news content reflects their concerns and interests.
Projects Currently in the Mix!
Implementing the Voices Project for LatinX Journalists: In early 2021, Coloradans from across backgrounds, generations, regions and professions began meeting to tackle two important questions:
- What would it take to ensure that local news coverage reflects, respects and reaches out to the state’s communities of color?
- What actions must newsrooms, community members and funders take to create a future in which communities of color share and shape the power of local news media?
Led by the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab) and community liaisons with support from CMP and The Colorado Health Foundation, The Voices Initiative convened four separate working groups of community members and journalists of color to find answers to those questions and push for action that included LatinX journalists. The group’s findings included the following actions:
- Hold newsrooms accountable for increasing Latinx diversity on staff, among sources and in stories.
- Create programs for Latinx youth to learn about the impacts of news media and participate in its change toward accurate, fair and equitable coverage.
- Support existing and emerging networks of Latinx information providers, storytellers and community members.
- Build Latinx-owned media power.
How can philanthropy amplify the voices of underrepresented groups, like people of color and rural Coloradans?
The timing for this panel was ideal with national momentum growing around media funding, including the launch of last year’s Press Forward initiative which is focused on creating a local news renaissance. And, a few of us working in Colorado philanthropic media engagement recently authored this article that was published by Grantmakers in Health Views from The Field. The bottom line is that we know philanthropy can play a vital role in ensuring that these voices are heard by:
Funding media projects: Direct funding towards outlets that prioritize stories from historically underrepresented communities.
Investing in training: Support programs that help journalists from historically underrepresented communities build skills and confidence.
Advocating for diverse narratives: Use philanthropic platforms to push for more inclusive storytelling across media.
Collaborating with grassroots organizations: Ensure that resources reach the communities most in need by working with local groups.
Supporting storytelling initiatives: Back projects that highlight the experiences of people of color and rural communities.
Projects in the Mix!
Press Forward Colorado is one of several local chapters in in Press Forward, a nationwide campaign to strengthen our communities and democracy by revitalizing local news and information. Five foundations stepped forward to co-chair Press Forward Colorado: CHF, Gates Family Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, The Colorado Trust and Gill Foundation. “Throughout 2024, CMP is offering a series of Press Forward learning opportunities, to introduce more funders, civic leaders, and community members to the people, projects and organizations that are supporting a healthier, more equitable, solutions-focused local news and information ecosystem for all Coloradans.”
In closing, empowering communities through local news is critical to fostering civic engagement and creating a multiracial democracy. By focusing on underrepresented voices and building diverse narratives, we can help shape a media landscape that reflects the full range of Colorado’s communities. Nonprofits, the media, and philanthropic organizations all have a role to play in making this vision a reality.
If you have thoughts or feedback for CHS to consider as we think about how to support the nonprofit sector with engaging local news, please email me directly.