Local journalists are providing vital information to residents during the pandemic, interviewing local health authorities, covering state government and sharing what’s open, what’s closed and what’s next.
Members of the public are invited to join local journalists for a live chat on Zoom Thursday, May 7 from 4 to 4:45 pm to discuss their experiences in covering the local impacts of the global pandemic.
In addition to answering questions about behind-the-scenes coverage of COVID-19, the panel of local editors are interested in hearing from the public about their needs for local news. What are residents NOT seeing in the news that they would like to know? What do they find confusing and how might local news editors make their stories more relevant to the public?
Guests include:
- Brian Duggan, executive editor of the Reno Gazette-Journal,
- Bob Conrad, Editor/Publisher of This is Reno,
- Michelle Billman, news director, KUNR, and
- Claudia Cruz, editor of Noticiero Móvil.
The live chat is hosted by the Nevada News Alliance, a new group created to address the precarious situation of local news providers in Nevada. For more than a decade, reporting capacity in Nevada has shrunk as advertising dollars move to social media and subscriptions to news outlets decline.
“Local news is vital to a healthy community,” Reynolds School assistant professor Patrick File said. “I don’t think many people understand how close we are to losing a critical part of what makes our cities and towns work.”
Understanding that local news is a vital part of a healthy democracy, the Nevada News Alliance is a new organization committed to making local news in Nevada more relevant, more trusted and more financially stable.
All local news providers in Nevada are invited to join the Alliance. Everyone is invited to join in supporting local news. Contact Reynolds School professor Donica Mensing for more information at [email protected] or visit the website: Nevada News Alliance.
