Journalists aren’t the only ones sharing the news, and that’s a good thing
A new framework from Journalism + Design Lab invites newsrooms to build on the abundance, diversity, and momentum already in our communities to strengthen local news.
Commentary
Latest in Commentary
The Black press has always faced an inequitable funding landscape. Its future can’t be the same
Looking to historical models can provide some clarity and inspiration in an environment once again hostile to funding Black journalists and the Black press.
It’s healthy for student journalists to raise concerns about AI
Generative AI isn’t a real solution to the issues facing newsrooms. Students are right to point that out.
How disaster reporting hit home for two Appalachian journalists after Helene
Disaster journalism is vital, but can be traumatizing for both journalists and sources. We can make it better by treating disaster survivors — and ourselves — with more humanity.
‘Almost media silence’: National, local news ignores trans Americans amid 2025’s anti-trans attacks
The failures of newsrooms to substantively cover anti-trans legislation in 2023 and 2024 have compounded over the first year of Trump's second term in office.
The Objective’s favorite media reporting and criticism of 2025
A non-comprehensive list of The Objective’s co-directors and readers’ picks for media coverage and commentary this year.
The local news contract is broken. Civic media can fix it
Darryl Holliday on how City Bureau's Documenters' program models the new social contract needed for local news and the civic media system emerging today.
Media policy: Local news for the people
Five key policy-making principles and concrete proposals to support civic information needs.
To save the free press, newsgathering must be reclaimed as a public trust
Michael Swerdlow on the necessity of publicly funding the news media.
The decline of local journalism removes a future for the industry
Hyperlocal and local journalists like me tell stories for smaller communities that may not have “national significance”, but are important to the people in these towns and areas.
The Black press has always faced an inequitable funding landscape. Its future can’t be the same
Looking to historical models can provide some clarity and inspiration in an environment once again hostile to funding Black journalists and the Black press.
It’s healthy for student journalists to raise concerns about AI
Generative AI isn’t a real solution to the issues facing newsrooms. Students are right to point that out.
How disaster reporting hit home for two Appalachian journalists after Helene
Disaster journalism is vital, but can be traumatizing for both journalists and sources. We can make it better by treating disaster survivors — and ourselves — with more humanity.
‘Almost media silence’: National, local news ignores trans Americans amid 2025’s anti-trans attacks
The failures of newsrooms to substantively cover anti-trans legislation in 2023 and 2024 have compounded over the first year of Trump's second term in office.
The Objective’s favorite media reporting and criticism of 2025
A non-comprehensive list of The Objective’s co-directors and readers’ picks for media coverage and commentary this year.
The local news contract is broken. Civic media can fix it
Darryl Holliday on how City Bureau's Documenters' program models the new social contract needed for local news and the civic media system emerging today.
Media policy: Local news for the people
Five key policy-making principles and concrete proposals to support civic information needs.
To save the free press, newsgathering must be reclaimed as a public trust
Michael Swerdlow on the necessity of publicly funding the news media.
The decline of local journalism removes a future for the industry
Hyperlocal and local journalists like me tell stories for smaller communities that may not have “national significance”, but are important to the people in these towns and areas.