Editor’s Note: Over the last year or two there has been an increased interest from newsrooms — both corporate-owned and independent — in forming editorial or advisory boards made up of local residents. The boards provide a direct link from the newsrooms to their communities, making their journalism more relevant and inclusive. API recently covered […]

The American Press Institute is beginning a new effort to support audience-centered accountability and government reporting, starting with a kickoff event June 17. Through discussion, peer learning and small project funds, the Local News Ideas-to-Action Series will help news organizations learn from journalists and newsrooms prioritizing the information needs of their communities to shape reporting; […]

With advertising becoming a less reliable source of revenue for the embattled journalism industry, more news outlets are turning toward sources of consumer revenue to shore up their coffers. This rise of subscription and membership models has dovetailed with the rise of audience engagement in recent years, as newsrooms seek to build stronger relationships with […]

People have questions. Journalists have answers. But it can be surprisingly difficult to connect the two. Someone wondering, for example, what COVID-19 testing options are available in their neighborhood can easily miss that story from their local news source, and they probably won’t go digging around on its website to find it. Helpful information can […]

A core goal of journalism is to lift up underheard voices. Sometimes, the best way to do that is to give those voices a stage and a microphone — and then get out of the way. That’s what happened at the culmination of a yearlong effort between Idaho Education News, a nonprofit news site, and […]

When COVID-19 infection rates began rising in southern Arizona in early spring, two things quickly became clear: one, predominantly Hispanic communities were suffering more than white communities, and two, people in those communities were desperate for reliable, relevant news — ideally, news in their native language. Prior to the pandemic, Liliana López Ruelas, Hispanic community […]

On May 31, as protests over the police killing of George Floyd swept the nation, staffers at the Long Beach Post in Long Beach, California, watched as some demonstrations in their own city turned violent. By the following morning, 170 businesses in downtown Long Beach had been damaged or looted, including the building where the […]

*The new deadline is Sept. 15, 2020 The American Press Institute has reopened applications for free access to an analytics program that will help publishers track and improve their 2020 elections coverage based on audience needs and engagement. The analytics tool, along with coaching from API staff and connections to a cohort of newsrooms focused […]

Support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies will provide a special version of API’s advanced Metrics for News app free to 60 publishers. The American Press Institute today announced it received a grant of $176,400 from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to help news organizations more effectively cover the 2020 elections. The grant will enable API to build special […]

Just when news organizations are feeling the weight of unprecedented audience urgency, the numbing sear of burnout, and the effects of cratering ad revenues, foundations are uncorking millions of dollars in support. This is a precious moment of opportunity in a precarious time for our industry and the communities we serve. But there are substantial […]