Local journalism is too important to lose—and it needs a new playbook.
On August 18, Chicago Public Media CEO and Vox co-founder Melissa Bell and New York Times columnist and fellow Vox co-founder Ezra Klein explored what it will take to rebuild local news and restore trust in our communities. They discussed how the collapse of traditional media business models and the rise of tech platforms have pulled audiences and advertising away from local news. The answer, they argued, is not simply more investigative reporting. Local news organizations need to give people useful, everyday information that connects them to their communities while building sustainable businesses around it.
They also called for news organizations to work together rather than compete, invest in technology they control, and find new ways to bring people together locally. Just as important, journalism must maintain a fair reporting process while building stronger relationships with audiences.
The future of local news—and our communities—depends on building something better now.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Melissa Bell has been Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Media since September 2024. She co-founded Vox.com in 2014 and helped pioneer explainer journalism while leading multiplatform products including the Today, Explained podcast and Netflix’s Explained. As publisher of Vox Media, she oversaw its editorial brands and helped lead its mergers with New York Magazine and Group Nine. Previously, Bell directed digital platforms at The Washington Post and was a founding Features Editor for Mint. In 2023, she became a visiting fellow at Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Ezra Klein joined New York Times Opinion in 2021. He is the host of the podcast “The Ezra Klein Show” and the author of “Why We’re Polarized” and, with Derek Thompson, “Abundance.” Previously, he was the founder, editor in chief and then editor at large of Vox. Before that, he was a columnist and editor at The Washington Post, where he founded and led the Wonkblog vertical.
