Chicago's News Landscape Transitioning from Print to Digital Local news outlets have adapted to national crises. Many outlets are turning to digital journalism. However, successful outlets still have to contend with the new online sources.
These new digital players often specialize in niche topics and rely on social media for distribution of their content, while experimenting with various approaches to reporting and community engagement. These new players also offer writers new opportunities to make money from their work. The advent of this new form of journalism has seen the creation of a whole new category of journalists. They no longer have to adhere to just one publication. They can now build subscriber bases to newsletters that cover any topic.
Digital startups serve specific needs within communities such as the South and Western sides of New York City. Others are trying to hold politicians more accountable for their policy; some experiments have even received funding through philanthropy.
The McCormick Foundation leads efforts to improve local journalism. For example, it partners with Chicago-area media rooms through the Metro Media Lab to conduct audience research as well as strategy work. The McCormick Foundation has also collaborated on developing their skills with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism’s Chicago Campus staff.
Chicago residents across all regions expressed a desire for improvement in the local news media, with regional differences. Some neighborhoods felt they were underrepresented or misrepresented in mainstream media.
Chicago's media organizations also have an innovative ecosystem of news, where both for-profit companies and nonprofits operate experimental news programs. Some of them are trying to build a relationship between journalists and their communities by working in the neighborhoods they work in and ensuring traditionally underserved community receives coverage both in writing and in voice.
Block Club Chicago published an account about Adam Toledo's police shooting a few months after it occurred; yet they took care to avoid traumatizing readers by not including graphic video footage in their story.
The TRiibe's online news platform is helping to build trust in Black Chicago. It was created by three Northwestern University Alumni who is female newscaster on nbc chicago were tired that Chicago was portrayed in mainstream media, as “the crime capital”. They wanted to give their community a voice and empower them with the ability to control its narrative. TRiibe has seen its efforts pay off: the content of TRiibe is widely shared on social media and has led to civic engagement projects in Chicago.