This month, my Bospar colleague Erin Hemmenway and I had the privilege of attending the Local Media Fest 2026, a Local Media Association conference in Chicago, where journalists, publishers and media leaders gather to discuss the future of local news.
As PR professionals, it was informative to learn more about how newsrooms are adapting to declining traffic, shifting audience habits, emerging technology and revenue challenges.
While the local news industry faces challenges, the conference made it clear that the industry is far from dying. Publications are evolving, experimenting with new approaches and finding creative ways to stay afloat.
Here are the 4 main takeaways I gathered from the event.
1. Transparency builds trust
Dean Baquet, former executive editor of The New York Times, opened the conference with a keynote on why local journalism remains essential, particularly when it comes to informing communities about government issues and major events. He argued that local journalism “brings communities together.”
One point he repeatedly emphasized was the need for news organizations to be more transparent with their audiences.
Baquet highlighted the importance of building audience trust through transparency about how journalists obtain information and explained the obstacles they may encounter along the way. He also encouraged local newsrooms to be more open about the financial and operational pressures they face, helping communities better understand what it takes to sustain local journalism.
Transparency is also important for PR professionals, who need to serve journalists. Reporters want credible sources, clear information and evidence that supports their stories.
2. Local news is evolving with the times
Allison Taylor Levine, founder and CEO of Spotlight Delaware, also provided wonderful insights on how she built the local news and information platform to great success after just over two years.
She explained how the platform has developed multiple revenue streams, including events, branded content, advertising, sponsorships, institutional philanthropy, memberships and donations. The organization has also expanded its presence through podcasts and social media.
This type of experimentation was a common theme throughout the conference. Newspapers, websites and TV stations, as well as individual journalists, are looking beyond their traditional formats and exploring social media, podcasts, events and even games to reach new audiences and create additional revenue opportunities.
3. Younger audiences want video
During a different session, Northeastern researchers Mike Beaudet and Lisa Thalhamer, noted that YouTube is a top daily news source for adults ages 18-34 and that 44% of younger audiences prefer to consume content from local TV stations through social media.
Social media can capture audience attention and encourage them to learn more. To do that successfully, newsrooms may want to, and often do, create content specifically for how people consume information online rather than sticking solely to traditional TV segments.
Beaudet and Thalhamer emphasized the power of strong hooks, captions and on-screen text, as well as getting to the point quickly. They also stressed authenticity over perfection, and they encouraged reporters to speak to the camera as though they were on FaceTime, take audiences behind the scenes and create recurring video series.
This ties back to Baquet’s earlier point about transparency. Showing audiences how a story was reported, what happened behind the scenes or what didn’t make the final piece can give audiences a better understanding of the journalism process and feel connected to the reporter.
4. AI provides both efficiency and risk for the industry
Several speakers throughout the conference highlighted how AI and emerging technology are valuable tools for journalists and newsrooms. However, as newsrooms continue to adopt these tools, concerns around data privacy and security increase.
Jon Accarrino, founder and CEO of consulting agency Ordo Digital, addressed the growing issue of employees entering confidential information into unsecured AI tools. The stakes are extremely high for reporters, who regularly handle unpublished stories, confidential documents, source information and other sensitive material.
Accarrino also discussed the rise of unauthorized AI tools, add-ons and note-taking applications that employees may use without their newsroom fully understanding where that information is stored or how it is used. His point wasn’t to stop using AI, but to get smarter with it.
News organizations are increasingly considering enterprise AI tools, internal policies, bot scraping and data ownership as they look for ways to benefit from AI without compromising security.
What this means for the future of journalism
My biggest takeaway from the event is that local news is finding new ways to adapt.
Newsrooms are experimenting with new platforms, revenue models and technology while finding new ways to build trust and reach audiences. The industry faces real challenges, but the conversations at the conference showed how much creativity and innovation are going into addressing them.
