The future of news is about service, not sensationalism

Editor’s note, Nov. 3, 2025: This piece was initially published on Nov. 17, 2023, and the below copy has been updated and fact-checked for the 2025 Civic Media Magazine, a project of The Objective, News Futures, and members of Free Press’s Media Policy Collaborative. You can read the updated letter to the editor and find more pieces from the series here.

As I reflect on the future of news and journalism, I write not from the perspective of a career journalist, but as an organizer and media consumer. 

My home of Camden, N.J., is a small, majority Black and Brown city with high unemployment and a high poverty rate. Local news, for decades, has been hyper-focused on the city’s untidy and vulnerable underbelly — it consistently fails to capture and accurately present the nuanced realities of the people who live here and their culture, values, and information needs. Too often it harms, exploits, and violates the trust of BIPOC communities.

I am reminded of the intrusive “ka-chick” sound from a journalist’s camera relentlessly capturing mourning families at a vigil for their loved one, showing little consideration for the family’s sacred space — a formerly simple sidewalk transformed into a memorial and sanctuary. The very next day, their mournful moment is prominently displayed on the front page of the publication’s website with no reverence for their humanity. It’s happened not just in my city, but in many others.

I am deeply embedded and invested in what the local news crisis means to historically marginalized communities. To reflect on the future of news, it is critical to acknowledge the field’s harmful shortcomings. Legacy media has failed to serve the diverse information needs of BIPOC and marginalized communities. Historically, racially homogeneous newsrooms have boasted large, trained, “award-winning” staff, but they rarely have provided comprehensive news, accurate portrayals, or contributions to the civic health of people of color. 

Exploitative acts of sensationalism, exemplified by practices like “if it bleeds, it leads,” have perpetuated stereotypes and eroded the trust and credibility of journalism within BIPOC and other marginalized communities. This has led to a deep divide between news organizations and the communities they aim to cover. 

Stories of joy often go unnoticed: In Camden we have the Jubilee Ringers’ free youth music lessons, Tee’s annual Peace Picnic, Faheem’s mobile shower for the unhoused, VietLead’s Resilient Roots Farm, Jamaal’s financial literacy initiative, and so much more. These are the creative, boundless, and skilled residents who actively service, transform, inform, and contribute to their community’s well-being. 

Mistrust in journalism signals the need for a fundamental shift in how news organizations approach journalism and civic information. Rather than “covering” communities, news organizations should commit to a service framework that engages actively with communities’ information needs and wants. 

Supporting and transforming the news and information landscape requires both public and philanthropic support, as well as systemic changes in policies and practices. More dollars and resources should be invested to help communities tell their own stories. 

The New Jersey Civic Information Consortium — of which I am the program officer — focuses on such changes and resource investments. Established by the state of New Jersey in 2018 as an independent nonprofit organization, the Consortium provides grants to start-up and early-stage community-based news and information initiatives that benefit civic life, with a particular emphasis on news deserts and historically marginalized voices. Although established by the state, the Consortium and its grantees maintain editorial independence. The Consortium currently supports 34 grantees, 14 of which are led by BIPOC communities — roughly 41%.

For example, Slice of Culture is a group of young BIPOC storytellers who promote civic engagement in Jersey City and Hudson County through stories targeted to immigrant families and communities of color. Another grantee, The Trenton Journal, amplifies local voices and perspectives by publishing solutions-based journalism through newsletters and consistent online publishing. 

The Consortium recognizes that to bridge the gap between news organizations and communities, it is essential that New Jersey’s news and news creators reflect our diverse state. It is critical that BIPOC-led news is not treated as an alternative “othered” form of news, but rather as the core component of the future of journalism. Communities should be active participants in creating timely and relevant news themselves, whether through citizen journalism, community-led news outlets, or partnerships with traditional media organizations. This collaboration enriches the content and ensures communities have a direct stake in the information they receive. 

In addition to substantial grants, the Consortium provides ongoing training and resources to empower journalists and news organizations to cover a broad spectrum of issues, holds trainings on financial sustainability and technology, and forges collaboration in the civic information ecosystem within the state. 

As I contemplate the next decade — or even the next five years — I recognize the pivotal moment now to rally behind journalism and the creation of civic information or risk descending into a void of misinformation, leaving genuine stories untold, those in power unaccountable, and the underserved muted. The future, to me, is not about “saving the news industry.” It is about elevating the quality and quantity of trustworthy and verifiable civic information to improve the lives of all residents and advocating for journalism as a public good that deserves public funding. 

Success at the Consortium looks like a news landscape in New Jersey that is thriving and vibrant with the voices of Black, Brown, and marginalized communities creating a media ecosystem truly serving the information needs of all. As an organizer deeply committed to this vision, I am hopeful that we can collectively work toward building a more equitable, inclusive, and informed state.

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Ayinde is a lifelong Camden, N.J., resident, activist, and organizer who has dedicated part of his career to increasing civic engagement within the city. As program officer for the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, he is responsible for developing a strong pipeline of prospective grantees and supporting current and former grantees.

This piece was edited by James Salanga. Copy edits by Bettina Chang. Fact-checking by Bashirah Mack.