Medill Local News Initiative

New research shows AI often uses news content without attribution, accelerating the crisis in local journalism. Read more: localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/03/…

Google isn’t the only place people search anymore. About 49% of U.S. consumers say they’ve used TikTok as a search engine, according to an Adobe survey. socialmediatoday.com/news/almost-ha…

With federal action stalled, more states are moving ahead to save local news. New Mexico could become the latest to adopt tax credits supporting newsroom jobs and sustaining local journalism. Read more: localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/02/…

At the Minnesota Star Tribune, an investment decades in the making takes shape: localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/02/…

News publishers are continuing to expand their subscription businesses despite broad traffic erosion tied to search shifts and AI-driven discovery changes. Read the full article on Digiday here: digiday.com/media/in-graph…

A deep dive into the Windy City’s innovative and expansive media landscape: localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/02/…

It's been almost one year since we launched The Last Ward on Substack. Now more than 100K subscribers get insight on Chicago politics and governance every Sunday morning. Today that work was recognized in new research on Chicago's local news ecosystem. Thank you to @LocalNewsIni and @MedillSchool for the shoutout. And thank you all for reading.

In local news deserts, 51% residents rely heavily on social media and influencers to stay informed. Read Medill LNI's comprehensive survey on news deserts across the USA: localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/02/…

Where do people in news deserts get local news from? Often, not from newsrooms. A new Medill survey finds residents rely heavily on social media, influencers, and gossip — alongside interviews with people living the reality. localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/02/…

Alden Global Capital, the private equity fund that owns the Chicago Tribune and more than 160 other newspapers across the United States, wants to add the Daily Herald to its portfolio. localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/02/…

On Carpenter, consolidation and censorship: cjr.org/feature/carpen…

Brightspots Read: localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/state…

"It was about to close until the family owners decided, after a last-minute conversation, to donate their business to a fledgling nonprofit newspaper operator." #localnews #nonprofitnews

The Northern Light, a weekly newspaper serving more than 10,000 households in Washington’s Whatcom County, was saved by a remarkably generous gift over the holidays. By @BrierDudley: localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/01/…

All featured images taken by Hannah Carroll.

In 2026, the Local News Initiative is proud to continue its work with local news outlets in the Chicago region by providing additional program services, including a legal clinic, the Lab for Journalism Funding, the Media Transformation Challenge and more.

To close out another successful year at Medill, the Local News Initiative hosted its annual Chicago Local News Summit in Dec 2025, providing local industry leaders with a day of relevant and robust knowledge to empower news organizations across the city.

Mackenzie Warren, Tim Franklin, Stephanie Edgerly and Yazmin Dominguez discuss key findings from the 2025 Chicago-Area News Consumption Survey and what they mean for local news in the Chicago region. youtu.be/NlWL5Txd7Jg?si…