A new book will examine the importance of The Eudora Times and other universities around the country playing a role in supporting local news.
And I’m writing it.
Last week, my co-author Pam Walck and I received a contract for our forthcoming book, “News Desert U.” We feel it’s important to shine a light on the critical role that student journalists and university faculty are playing in helping solve the crisis in local news.
I started The Eudora Times through KU over five years ago, and we are highly respected and well-known across the country for what we’re doing here. I thought it important to record our story for history as my last book with this publisher is in over 1,200 libraries around the world. (That book, by the way, is “Press Portrayals of Women Politicians, 1870s-2000s” – quite timely at the moment.)
Here are other news/academic partnerships that will be examined in the book:
The Scope. Northeastern. The Scope launched in its current form in fall 2017 with the mission of telling “neighborhood stories of justice, hope, and resilience” in Greater Boston. Although the city has a robust media ecosystem, there are gaps, especially in coverage of Black, Latinx, and Asian communities. Engaging underrepresented communities, building sustainable outreach models and increasing civic participation are central to their mission. As a news desert publication that has now operated for several years, The Scope offers valuable lessons for longevity.
Ability Media. Quinnipiac. Ability Media was created in spring 2021 by the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University to address a pressing need across all forms of media—the lack of representation of people with different abilities in news content and in jobs. Ability Media began as a website and YouTube channel to meet the expressed needs and interests of the 54 million Americans with different abilities and those committed to them personally, professionally and commercially.
The Oglethorpe Echo. University of Georgia. In fall 2021, the journalism school at the University of Georgia announced it was teaming up with one of its alums to rescue a 148-year-old weekly newspaper in nearby Oglethorpe County. The newspaper’s publisher had to step down for health reasons, so the newspaper was handed over to the journalism school to provide all reporting, photography and design to prevent this community from becoming a news desert. Whereas the prior publications were created from scratch, this news desert operation provides lessons on what happens when a university takes over a long-standing publication.
The Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and Solon Economist, University of Iowa. In spring 2024, the Daily Iowan student newspaper announced it was buying two weekly newspapers near Iowa City. The professional staff of both newspapers remain, including the local editors. This outlet provides insight into the early days of a university news desert collaboration, as well as how students will work with existing newspaper staff and absorb into the community.
We also expect to partner with two other universities to tell their stories.
What we’re doing here in Eudora matters. And we need you, the readers, to support us and show you value our work for the community. We absolutely have to have more reader donations in order to continue.
If you value us going to City Commission meetings so you know what’s going on, donate.
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I can tell our story all around the world. But we need all of you to do your part to keep it going and to show the world we do matter.
