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| Nonprofit and citizen-led efforts step up to fill gaps in local news
 The pace of nonprofit media growth is picking up, but there are serious questions about investment in local nonprofit news efforts.
"In general, national nonprofit media outlets attract more funding than local news operations. This lack of support for local news is coinciding with an increase in the number of 'news deserts,' regions without viable commercial or nonprofit news organizations."
How the loss of local newspapers is affecting communities
"About 1,800 local papers have closed or merged since 2004, according to data from researchers at University of North Carolina. The reasons for newspaper closures are well-known - internet advertising destroying the traditional business models, readers moving towards more online and more free news. In Boulder and in nearby Denver, there's also a question of ownership," the BBC writes in a new piece about the decline of U.S. daily and weekly newspapers.
 "Penelope Muse Abernathy, a professor and researcher at the University of North Carolina, says the closure of community newspapers means more than a loss of information.
"Local news sets the agenda for public debates by bringing particular issues to public attention, encourages regional business development by connecting local businesses with local residents (whether through ads or coverage) and can reflect what's similar or different about a national problem on the local level, she says.
"'A strong local newspaper shows you how you are related to people you may not know you're related to,' Abernathy says."
Early bird rate available now for LION's annual conference
The world's largest gathering of local independent online news organizations will return to Chicago this fall, and right now you can take advantage of a discounted early bird rate for the 2018 LION Summit Oct. 11-13.
This year's conference will feature an opening day boot camp for idea-stage local news entrepreneurs and fledgling local independent online news publishers, and then two full days packed with an array of speakers, panel discussions and networking opportunities devoted to revenue ideas and best practices, community engagement and sustainability.
Russian campaign exploited Americans' trust in local news
SPIRITED MEDIA: Consulting for other media companies becomes a new revenue stream for Spirited Media, the folks behind Billy Penn, The Incline in Pittsburgh and Denverite.
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