May 30, 2025 • 22 mins
Local news is facing serious challenges everywhere, with more than half the counties in the United States lacking any source of community reporting.
Chris Kline, CEO of the Arizona Media Association, joins us to talk about the Arizona Community Collaborative and its efforts to revitalize local news in Arizona with a bold, statewide storytelling initiative focused on the topic of education solutions.
Backed by a coalition of nearly 400 media brands, and with $2 million in philanthropy already raised, the Arizona Community Collaborative is expanding journalism coverage in local communities throughout the state to spark informed kitchen-table discussions about the biggest issues affecting Arizona’s future.
Read the transcript and notes for this episode on our website.
Key Takeaways
- A new initiative in Arizona focuses on expanding local journalism specifically around "education solutions."
- The Arizona Community Collaborative is hiring dedicated journalists to report on educational topics throughout the state, enhancing community engagement and informed discussion.
- This initiative demonstrates the importance of nonpartisan, community-based journalism, and it's crucial for public relations professionals to invest in and support local newsrooms.
About the Guest
Chris Kline is the President and CEO of the Arizona Media Association and the Arizona Local News Foundation. He leads a coalition of nearly 400 local radio, TV, print and digital brands with a focus on future-proofing local media and its critical role in community connection. Chris previously led the Arizona Broadcasters Association and spent 15 years working in Arizona local media at radio, TV and print operations plus at CNN in Washington, DC. Chris serves on boards at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, University of Arizona’s Journalism School, Arizona’s emergency communications committee, the Desert Botanical Gardens, the East Valley Institute of Technology, Arizona Talks, and the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Local news is on theendangered species list in the United
States of America. We'vetalked about this on this program.
Back in November 20 24,Episode 42, we talked about the demise
of local news and its impacton democracy. It's a pretty bleak
picture, as more than half thecounties in the United States do
not have a source of localnews informing people about what's
(00:28):
happening in their owncommunities and helping them make
informed decisions about theirschool boards, their state-level
politics, and pretty mucheverything else. However, it's not
all bleak. There are somebright spots and some exciting new
developments. Abbie, what's onyour mind?
The opportunity to talk aboutlocal journalism is always so important
(00:49):
to me. When we talk about theimpact of local journalism, when
we're sharing with ourclients, and really the ability for
the journalists and our localnewsrooms, whether we're talking
about some of the largerdailies or the community publications
across the state, these arethe individuals that are really bringing
forth the stories that matterto the communities and they are so
(01:11):
critically important. And asan industry, as a public relations
industry, we need to invest inthese local newsrooms from a subscription
base, we need to providesupport from an advertising base,
we need to consider them whenwe are pitching our stories. We really
need to make an investment inthe work that they're doing. I'm
really excited today thatwe're going to be talking about this
(01:33):
amazing initiative that'shappening here in Arizona. 'mexcitedChrisKleinontoKlineonto
onto the podcast today. He'spresident and CEO of the Arizona
Media Association and ArizonaLocal News Foundation to talk about
an initiative that waslaunched earlier this year that's
(01:54):
impacting our local newsroomsand really putting a ocusonan an
important topic here inArizona regarding education. So Chris,
thanks for coming on with ustoday and sharing a l
It is my pleasure. We aretrying to innovate. I can't promise
we got all the answers, butthere are exciting things happening
(02:16):
in Arizona, and that is worth celebrating.
So tell me a little bit aboutthis program. I read an article in
one of our local newspapersearly part of this year that announced
that the foundation, theArizona Local News Foundation, was
funding a multi-year programwith, at the time, 15 local newsrooms
(02:36):
to expand journalism, toexpand the opportunity to report
on education solutions inArizona. So tell me a little bit
more about that and where theprogram is right now.
Absolutely. Let me give youthe backstory so you understand how
we get to where we're attoday. Over the last couple of wehave
(02:57):
formedandrebuiltan ArizonaMediaassociation Association in moreorlesscreatesacoalition
ofnearly400brands,someofwhichdonews,some ofwhich focus
on communityconnections,someof whomdomusic,someofwhom aredigitalstartups.It'sbasicallyacoalitionthatbringstogethertheentiretyofthelocalcommunitymediacommunityasitexiststoday.AndIcontinuetobelieve
(03:21):
weare theonlystate in existstoday. And thusfarbroken downsomeof
thosehistoriclegacyplatformbarriersand createdthisstatewidecoalition.Thatcoalitionhasallowedustocreate
scaleinorder tostartexperimentingwithnew,big, That projects.
So, firstbig,boldprojectwelaunchedwastocreatean experimenting
(03:42):
with new, big, bold projects.The first big, bold project thefoundationis
to create an Arizona LocalNews Foundation, which we did about
18 months ago. Theaccesstomorenewsandinformation. is
to figure out what are thelevers we can pull to connect communities
all across the state ofArizona with access to more news
(04:04):
and information.t'snotaboutsupportinganyonebrand. brand.
It's not about anything otherthan making sure that you and me,
as citizens and residents ofArizona, have access to the information
that helps us live a safer,better, happier life in the state.
That creation has allowed usto go start talking to community
(04:28):
leaders all across the stateabout how we pull that off. And the
project that you'rereferencing is the marquee project
we are so proud of right now.We call it the Arizona Community
Collaborative. Thecollaborative exists to basically
reshape conversation andimpact for the biggest issues facing
(04:51):
the state of Arizona. And inthe starting point realm, "education
solutions" is where we areputting our whole focus. Last fall,
we spent, gosh, months andmonths going up to philanthropic
partners, folks who arepassionate about education, groups
that are passionate aboutsupporting communities, and were
(05:12):
able to raise a little over $2million. And with that $2 million,
we're doing two things. Numberone, we're funding a dramatic expansion
in journalism across thestate, fully focused on basically
beat journalism abouteducation solutions. All you got
to do is go back 10 or 15years to remember a world where there
(05:37):
were beat journalists left andright on all sorts of topics. I think
anybody listening knows thatthe world has shifted. As havechanged,asreportershavebecomegeneralassignment,wehavelostsomeofthefocuson
have lost some of the focus onthese issues. And this program is
(06:01):
meantthatissolelyfocusedonatopiclikeeducationSolutionsthat'ssoimportantto on
a topic like educationsolutions that's so important to
the state. The other thinginventory allacrossthestateinordertotellthestoryof
(06:21):
it usingthatarealreadyoutthere.Andsowe'reworking withthefundersofthisprogramthathavepublicservicemessagingabouthowto
there. Andfreetutoringorhowtousea529program or
what isaCTEhighschool,acareerintechnicaleduch- nj.L -
(06:43):
So let me dive in a little biton the concept, first of all of education
solutions. Talk a little bitabout what emeanby by that. And specifically
thejournalisticperspective,thejournaliststhatyouarefundinginthe differentnewsrooms,intermsofwhatare
theyseeking,whatkindofinformation aretheygoing tobebringingforthinthepagesof
(07:06):
theirnewspapersor in the pagesof their newspapers or over their
airwaves? From an editorialperspective, ameantothereaderwhentheyseeastorythat'sproducedoutofthisinitiative?
Most importantly, it meansthat we wanted to get away from the
political hot potatoconversations. We wanted to move
away from the politics and theblame game. And the word solutions
(07:29):
is intentionally in everythingwe talk about. It's not just education
reporting, it's educationsolutions reporting with intent.
And what webythatisstorytellingnotjustabout what'sworkingincommunitiesallacrossthestate,
butnewideasthatneedtobeexplored,conversationsaboutthings happeningelsewhereinthecountrythatshouldbebrought
(07:49):
hereoutside ofthepolitics.brought here, outside of the politics.
Solutions that, eithercouldhelpimproveourthirdgradereadinglevelsorgraduationratesorcollege 3rd-grade
reading levels orthosethings.It's meanttobea post-secondary
attainment. key is thosethings. t'smeantto be abig big tent.
(08:12):
And again, I think the key isthat we have defined from a parameter
standpoint that the only no-gowith this journalism is that if it
turns into politics or if itturns into gosh, every third day,
this reporter being funded bythis collaborative has to fill in
(08:35):
for somebody else or go covera stor unrelated to education solutions.
That doesn't work. And in thespirit of the $2 million that we've
raised, we have an obligationto the public and we've got an obligation
to our philanthropic partners.So our pledge, and the newsrooms
that are coming on board to bea part of this have pledged, that
(08:59):
intheprocessofaddingacoupleofmorerightnow.Butwhat in
their newsroom to report 100%of the time about education solutions
storytelling. And in tangibleterms, 15 newsrooms is where we have
started, and we actually arein the process of adding a couple
of more right now. But whatthat means is that scaled out across
(09:20):
the state, that's going to behundreds of stories a month. Hundreds
of stories a month that are onTV stations, radio stations, newspapers,
digital-only brands that aregoing to show up in your social media
feeds. And I keep using theline next10, 20or30yearsneedtobethinkingaboutasoureconomychanges,asthejobsavailablechange.AndinaplacelikeArizonathatinsomanywayshasbecomeatechhub,isthatgoingtochangeourworld?Andwhatdoweneedtothinkaboutanddoabouttoprepareforthat? W
(09:54):
Now, when a consumer isflipping the pages of one of the
newspapers that's part of thisinitiative or flips on their television
and sees one of the newsstories, will they know that this
particular story is as aresult of this important initiative?
Or is it just straight upeditorial runs as though any other
(10:16):
story in that publication?
One thing that consumers willnotice is that depending upon the
medium, all partners in thiscollaborative acknowledge that this
is part of the ArizonaCommunity Collaborative through the
Arizona Local News Foundation.That might be an addendum in a radio
story or an italic line in anonline story or a print story. The
(10:36):
reason for that is becausesince we have outside funding, we
want to live up tothajournalismof independenceand and
transparency. Not that there'sanything funky or questionable about
the funders, but because we'vefound philanthropic uptoourmissionofmakingsurethisisgood,strong,independentjournalism.
And you did say that thesejournalists, these are newly created
(11:00):
positions and therefore newstaff has been brought in. So in
addition to bringing forththis important information, you've
also provided additional jobsin the journalism field, which those
of us that watch newsroomsshrinking should thrilledtoknow that
thereareopportunitiesforthis typeofwork.
(11:21):
I think that part's key too,because I don't think we can say
it enough. It's not like anewsroom here could say, "oh, I was
going to cut a position, butnow I can save it." These are new
additive roles. Fifteen newjournalists that didn't exist in
the state just a couple ofmonths ago, that are not just going
to be around now for a coupleof weeks or a couple of months or
(11:44):
a year. Butyoumentionedintheintro, we'realsocommittingtofunding
thesejournalistsforthenext24months, thenext twoyears,andthat
iswithintentiontoensurethatintention to ensure the forthesejobsare
ofhighcaliberandhighquality.Because,gosh,Iwouldn't want
totakeajobifIknewthefundingwasgonnarun outaftersix,nine
(12:04):
or12months.Sotwoyearsisthatsweet spot.
And how--this is the publicrelations practitioner in me--how
do we share information withthese journalists? I'm certain they're
investigating their ownsources and finding stories, but
there are somayamazingstoriestobetold. told.
How will people share what'sworking in their particular environment
(12:26):
regarding education solutionsand what will be the process by which,
externally, we can help share the
I think that's such animportant question because this fails
if it takes six or nine monthsfor these journalists to go build
relationships and find theconnections needed, because we will
have wasted six to nine monthsof this two-year period. So there
(12:46):
are two things that we'redoing to answer your question. The
first is that we are hostingquarterly events with these journalists
and with education leadersfrom across the state. We recently
were at the Helios EducationFoundation in Phoenix and brought
together 50 journalists. Andwhen I say 50, I mean the new journalists
we're hiring as well asjournalists from the local media
(13:09):
community that are bought-into this education solutions mission
and are participating in thecause. So that's hugely helpful and
creates a larger megaphone. Sohalf of those hundred folks came
from the journalism space. Theother half came from the education
space, whether it's from thegovernment space, whether it's from
the nonprofit space, thepublic sector, all of those pieces
(13:32):
of the puzzle. We broughteverybody together to network, to
build relationships, to sharedata and Andwe'regoing tokeepdoingthat
quarter afterquarter.Andwe'regoingtoturn itintoaroadshow
acrossthestatebecausewedon'twanttojustgetcaughtinthePhoenixbubble,eventhoughthat'swhere the
vastmajorityofthestate'spopulation is.Theotherthingthatwearedoing
(13:52):
iswegot alistofallofthesejournalistsandwewillhappilyandfreelyshare itwith
of all of these journalists,contactthesejournalists becausetheygota
greatstoryidea.Youcansendusanemail. It'sjustfoundationzmedia.orgyouwantthatlist?
Sendusthenote,ask for it. sendus an email. It's just foundation@azmedia.org.
(14:13):
You want that list? Send usthe note, ask for it. We will get
you in touch with any one ofthese journalists. The other thing
I'm really proud about withthis program is that the journalists
that are being funded throughthis program truly are all across
the state. They are, you know,to use an example, they're at a newspaper
(14:38):
in Flagstaff, they're at aradio station in Yuma, they're at
a TV station in Tucson, theyare at a digital startup in Phoenix.
And that is intentionaswellinwell, fragmentedworldwhereweknowthat
no oneplatfor
Well, and that's intriguing tome, especially given how consumers
consume news in so manydifferent ways. You know, the newspaper
(15:02):
on the front doorstep or in myhandheld device, we get our informatoninso
manydifferentways ways atdifferent times during the day. And
I going tomakeanimpact,especiallyonatopicasimportantas educationsolutions,wereallydohave
tomeetthereadership,thelistenership,wheretheyare,andprovidethemopportunitytoseetheseimportantstoriesin whateverformat
(15:24):
thatmightcome.Youhadmentioned,inadditiontothe journalisticenvironmentandcreatingstoriesandeditorialopportunities,thatthereisalsoan
investmentfromthesenewsroomsfromapublicserviceperspectiveandthat theyaresupportingitwithadditionalspaceintheirmediaoutlet
fortheseimportantmessages.Sotalkalittlebitabouthowthatcommitmentisworkingandwhat kindof
(15:50):
informationwillbesharedfromthepublicserviceside.
Yeah. So I think this isanother example of where the scale
of the new media associationwe built a couple of years ago, 400
media brands that participatein this collaborative and coalition,
as well as the goodwill tocome together knowing that if we
want to tackle big challenges,we got to work together. So we have
(16:16):
an ad network that runs allacross the Arizona Media Association
that's fllyfocusedon on publicservice style messaging. And it basically
adinventoryforpublicservicemessagingabout whatevertopicis needed.Sowe're
dedicating We're dedicating agood chunk of that inventory, thanks
to agreements and partnershipsfrom media brands across the state,
(16:38):
to have 30-second ads thatstart running about things like what
we've been talking about, andto have full-page and quarter-page
ads in newspapers starttalking about this, or display ads.
And again, I placeisgoingtobetheendall,beallsolution.That'swhy weare
fundingthisjournalism in oneplace is going to be the end all,
(17:03):
be all solution. That's why weare funding that whileeducationis
ourlaunchfocus types ofnewsrooms, singlemostimportant topicbecauseittoucheseverythingelsewe
add that while education isour launch focus, and it's arguably
theanythingelse.Butwewanttotakethismodelandwe'reactivelyworkingto moveandaddjournalists
(17:25):
andother topicstoo,whetherit'shealthcareor need, we
can't build anything else. Butwhatwehave done here model, and we're
actively working we'retryingtoleverageand,andto takethe,youknow,wegottagutcheckandpinchourselvestoo.
Andrememberthatweraised$2millioninphilanthropy in
just done here is somethingreally fascinating that we're trying
(17:47):
to leverage. And to take the,you know, beenable gut-check and
pinch ourselves, too, andremember that we raised $2 million
in philanthropy in just ahandful we didn'thavelocal not normal.
That is magical. And I thinkthat speaks to the unique community
(18:08):
project that we've beewhatweto design and innovate on and also
the partnership that so manylocal excitedaswell.Becauseaswecontinueto
on. It wouldn't work if wedidn't have local media partners
that all said, "yes, thiscollaborative is necessary and it's
critical to the future of ourstate and it's what we want to invest
(18:31):
our time in as a newsroom."That gets me up in the morning and
has me super excited as well.Because whoaregoingtogoallinonatopicthatjustcandidlywasn'tgettingenoughcoverage.,"W+,,
"
And I think that might be oneof the most powerful components of
this is really thecollaborative nature of the project.
(18:51):
And that these newsrooms thatare competing on a daily basis for
good stories, are competingfor advertising dollars, are competing
for subscriptions, forviewership, for readership, have
said this is an importantinitiative to participate in because
of the topic. And Iwholeheartedly believe that the role
(19:11):
of journalists and the role ofthe news media is to bring forth
important information to theconsumers. And for this level of
organizations to commit todoing this and doing it in a very
cooperative nature is a prettypowerful statement. And I think really
speaks well to our colleaguesin the media here that they recognize
(19:33):
a topic as important aseducation. And those others that
you mentioned that are futureplans, really is what their role
is supposed to be, which is tobring forth information to consumers
so that we can make smartdecisions and make smart investments
in the things that areimportant to us because of this unbiased,
objective, thoughtfulreporting and information sharing
(19:56):
that comes from the members ofthe press. And I think the fact that
they've agreed to work intandem and cooperatively is a pretty
powerful statement to thesuccess of the initiative in the
future, for where it can go.
To that point, one of thestatistics I'd love to share with
you comes from an annual mediaresearch study we fund. Once a year
we hire an LA-based company togo audit how are Arizona consumers
(20:20):
using media today? Because itchanges so fast. And we dove into
trust as one of the topics inthe 20 25 study. And there was one
statistic in particular that Ithink is the biggstopportunityin
in front of us. And when itcomesto whatisthepercentageofpeoplethat
saytheyhavetrustinlocalnews--we'renottalkingaboutcable not
talking about cable news,we're not talking about national
(20:43):
news. We're talking about thelocal news in your community. ndthenumberisastonishinginourcommunitythat
86%. If we still have trust inthe people in our community that
are telling us about what'shappening on the most local level,
andtakeacollaborativelikethisandtakethat 15journalists
(21:04):
oneducation,maybewecanturnitinto30before theendoftheyear
oneducation,maybe wecandoubleeducation. Maybe andadd another40or
50 journalists.We alsorebuildlocal 50 journalists. We also rebuild
local news from the insideout. And we news inofaprojectlikethisone.
(21:27):
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(21:48):
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(22:13):
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I'm Adrian McIntyre. Thanksfor listening and i. W
Local news is on theendangered species list in the United
States of America. We'vetalked about this on this program.
Back in November 20 24,Episode 42, we talked about the demise
of local news and its impacton democracy. It's a pretty bleak
picture, as more than half thecounties in the United States do
not have a source of localnews informing people about what's
(00:28):
happening in their owncommunities and helping them make
informed decisions about theirschool boards, their state-level
politics, and pretty mucheverything else. However, it's not
all bleak. There are somebright spots and some exciting new
developments. Abbie, what's onyour mind?
The opportunity to talk aboutlocal journalism is always so important
(00:49):
to me. When we talk about theimpact of local journalism, when
we're sharing with ourclients, and really the ability for
the journalists and our localnewsrooms, whether we're talking
about some of the largerdailies or the community publications
across the state, these arethe individuals that are really bringing
forth the stories that matterto the communities and they are so
(01:11):
critically important. And asan industry, as a public relations
industry, we need to invest inthese local newsrooms from a subscription
base, we need to providesupport from an advertising base,
we need to consider them whenwe are pitching our stories. We really
need to make an investment inthe work that they're doing. I'm
really excited today thatwe're going to be talking about this
(01:33):
amazing initiative that'shappening here in Arizona. 'mexcitedChrisKleinontoKlineonto
onto the podcast today. He'spresident and CEO of the Arizona
Media Association and ArizonaLocal News Foundation to talk about
an initiative that waslaunched earlier this year that's
(01:54):
impacting our local newsroomsand really putting a ocusonan an
important topic here inArizona regarding education. So Chris,
thanks for coming on with ustoday and sharing a l
It is my pleasure. We aretrying to innovate. I can't promise
we got all the answers, butthere are exciting things happening
(02:16):
in Arizona, and that is worth celebrating.
So tell me a little bit aboutthis program. I read an article in
one of our local newspapersearly part of this year that announced
that the foundation, theArizona Local News Foundation, was
funding a multi-year programwith, at the time, 15 local newsrooms
(02:36):
to expand journalism, toexpand the opportunity to report
on education solutions inArizona. So tell me a little bit
more about that and where theprogram is right now.
Absolutely. Let me give youthe backstory so you understand how
we get to where we're attoday. Over the last couple of wehave
(02:57):
formedandrebuiltan ArizonaMediaassociation Association in moreorlesscreatesacoalition
ofnearly400brands,someofwhichdonews,some ofwhich focus
on communityconnections,someof whomdomusic,someofwhom aredigitalstartups.It'sbasicallyacoalitionthatbringstogethertheentiretyofthelocalcommunitymediacommunityasitexiststoday.AndIcontinuetobelieve
(03:21):
weare theonlystate in existstoday. And thusfarbroken downsomeof
thosehistoriclegacyplatformbarriersand createdthisstatewidecoalition.Thatcoalitionhasallowedustocreate
scaleinorder tostartexperimentingwithnew,big, That projects.
So, firstbig,boldprojectwelaunchedwastocreatean experimenting
(03:42):
with new, big, bold projects.The first big, bold project thefoundationis
to create an Arizona LocalNews Foundation, which we did about
18 months ago. Theaccesstomorenewsandinformation. is
to figure out what are thelevers we can pull to connect communities
all across the state ofArizona with access to more news
(04:04):
and information.t'snotaboutsupportinganyonebrand. brand.
It's not about anything otherthan making sure that you and me,
as citizens and residents ofArizona, have access to the information
that helps us live a safer,better, happier life in the state.
That creation has allowed usto go start talking to community
(04:28):
leaders all across the stateabout how we pull that off. And the
project that you'rereferencing is the marquee project
we are so proud of right now.We call it the Arizona Community
Collaborative. Thecollaborative exists to basically
reshape conversation andimpact for the biggest issues facing
(04:51):
the state of Arizona. And inthe starting point realm, "education
solutions" is where we areputting our whole focus. Last fall,
we spent, gosh, months andmonths going up to philanthropic
partners, folks who arepassionate about education, groups
that are passionate aboutsupporting communities, and were
(05:12):
able to raise a little over $2million. And with that $2 million,
we're doing two things. Numberone, we're funding a dramatic expansion
in journalism across thestate, fully focused on basically
beat journalism abouteducation solutions. All you got
to do is go back 10 or 15years to remember a world where there
(05:37):
were beat journalists left andright on all sorts of topics. I think
anybody listening knows thatthe world has shifted. As havechanged,asreportershavebecomegeneralassignment,wehavelostsomeofthefocuson
have lost some of the focus onthese issues. And this program is
(06:01):
meantthatissolelyfocusedonatopiclikeeducationSolutionsthat'ssoimportantto on
a topic like educationsolutions that's so important to
the state. The other thinginventory allacrossthestateinordertotellthestoryof
(06:21):
it usingthatarealreadyoutthere.Andsowe'reworking withthefundersofthisprogramthathavepublicservicemessagingabouthowto
there. Andfreetutoringorhowtousea529program or
what isaCTEhighschool,acareerintechnicaleduch- nj.L -
(06:43):
So let me dive in a little biton the concept, first of all of education
solutions. Talk a little bitabout what emeanby by that. And specifically
thejournalisticperspective,thejournaliststhatyouarefundinginthe differentnewsrooms,intermsofwhatare
theyseeking,whatkindofinformation aretheygoing tobebringingforthinthepagesof
(07:06):
theirnewspapersor in the pagesof their newspapers or over their
airwaves? From an editorialperspective, ameantothereaderwhentheyseeastorythat'sproducedoutofthisinitiative?
Most importantly, it meansthat we wanted to get away from the
political hot potatoconversations. We wanted to move
away from the politics and theblame game. And the word solutions
(07:29):
is intentionally in everythingwe talk about. It's not just education
reporting, it's educationsolutions reporting with intent.
And what webythatisstorytellingnotjustabout what'sworkingincommunitiesallacrossthestate,
butnewideasthatneedtobeexplored,conversationsaboutthings happeningelsewhereinthecountrythatshouldbebrought
(07:49):
hereoutside ofthepolitics.brought here, outside of the politics.
Solutions that, eithercouldhelpimproveourthirdgradereadinglevelsorgraduationratesorcollege 3rd-grade
reading levels orthosethings.It's meanttobea post-secondary
attainment. key is thosethings. t'smeantto be abig big tent.
(08:12):
And again, I think the key isthat we have defined from a parameter
standpoint that the only no-gowith this journalism is that if it
turns into politics or if itturns into gosh, every third day,
this reporter being funded bythis collaborative has to fill in
(08:35):
for somebody else or go covera stor unrelated to education solutions.
That doesn't work. And in thespirit of the $2 million that we've
raised, we have an obligationto the public and we've got an obligation
to our philanthropic partners.So our pledge, and the newsrooms
that are coming on board to bea part of this have pledged, that
(08:59):
intheprocessofaddingacoupleofmorerightnow.Butwhat in
their newsroom to report 100%of the time about education solutions
storytelling. And in tangibleterms, 15 newsrooms is where we have
started, and we actually arein the process of adding a couple
of more right now. But whatthat means is that scaled out across
(09:20):
the state, that's going to behundreds of stories a month. Hundreds
of stories a month that are onTV stations, radio stations, newspapers,
digital-only brands that aregoing to show up in your social media
feeds. And I keep using theline next10, 20or30yearsneedtobethinkingaboutasoureconomychanges,asthejobsavailablechange.AndinaplacelikeArizonathatinsomanywayshasbecomeatechhub,isthatgoingtochangeourworld?Andwhatdoweneedtothinkaboutanddoabouttoprepareforthat? W
(09:54):
Now, when a consumer isflipping the pages of one of the
newspapers that's part of thisinitiative or flips on their television
and sees one of the newsstories, will they know that this
particular story is as aresult of this important initiative?
Or is it just straight upeditorial runs as though any other
(10:16):
story in that publication?
One thing that consumers willnotice is that depending upon the
medium, all partners in thiscollaborative acknowledge that this
is part of the ArizonaCommunity Collaborative through the
Arizona Local News Foundation.That might be an addendum in a radio
story or an italic line in anonline story or a print story. The
(10:36):
reason for that is becausesince we have outside funding, we
want to live up tothajournalismof independenceand and
transparency. Not that there'sanything funky or questionable about
the funders, but because we'vefound philanthropic uptoourmissionofmakingsurethisisgood,strong,independentjournalism.
And you did say that thesejournalists, these are newly created
(11:00):
positions and therefore newstaff has been brought in. So in
addition to bringing forththis important information, you've
also provided additional jobsin the journalism field, which those
of us that watch newsroomsshrinking should thrilledtoknow that
thereareopportunitiesforthis typeofwork.
(11:21):
I think that part's key too,because I don't think we can say
it enough. It's not like anewsroom here could say, "oh, I was
going to cut a position, butnow I can save it." These are new
additive roles. Fifteen newjournalists that didn't exist in
the state just a couple ofmonths ago, that are not just going
to be around now for a coupleof weeks or a couple of months or
(11:44):
a year. Butyoumentionedintheintro, we'realsocommittingtofunding
thesejournalistsforthenext24months, thenext twoyears,andthat
iswithintentiontoensurethatintention to ensure the forthesejobsare
ofhighcaliberandhighquality.Because,gosh,Iwouldn't want
totakeajobifIknewthefundingwasgonnarun outaftersix,nine
(12:04):
or12months.Sotwoyearsisthatsweet spot.
And how--this is the publicrelations practitioner in me--how
do we share information withthese journalists? I'm certain they're
investigating their ownsources and finding stories, but
there are somayamazingstoriestobetold. told.
How will people share what'sworking in their particular environment
(12:26):
regarding education solutionsand what will be the process by which,
externally, we can help share the
I think that's such animportant question because this fails
if it takes six or nine monthsfor these journalists to go build
relationships and find theconnections needed, because we will
have wasted six to nine monthsof this two-year period. So there
(12:46):
are two things that we'redoing to answer your question. The
first is that we are hostingquarterly events with these journalists
and with education leadersfrom across the state. We recently
were at the Helios EducationFoundation in Phoenix and brought
together 50 journalists. Andwhen I say 50, I mean the new journalists
we're hiring as well asjournalists from the local media
(13:09):
community that are bought-into this education solutions mission
and are participating in thecause. So that's hugely helpful and
creates a larger megaphone. Sohalf of those hundred folks came
from the journalism space. Theother half came from the education
space, whether it's from thegovernment space, whether it's from
the nonprofit space, thepublic sector, all of those pieces
(13:32):
of the puzzle. We broughteverybody together to network, to
build relationships, to sharedata and Andwe'regoing tokeepdoingthat
quarter afterquarter.Andwe'regoingtoturn itintoaroadshow
acrossthestatebecausewedon'twanttojustgetcaughtinthePhoenixbubble,eventhoughthat'swhere the
vastmajorityofthestate'spopulation is.Theotherthingthatwearedoing
(13:52):
iswegot alistofallofthesejournalistsandwewillhappilyandfreelyshare itwith
of all of these journalists,contactthesejournalists becausetheygota
greatstoryidea.Youcansendusanemail. It'sjustfoundationzmedia.orgyouwantthatlist?
Sendusthenote,ask for it. sendus an email. It's just foundation@azmedia.org.
(14:13):
You want that list? Send usthe note, ask for it. We will get
you in touch with any one ofthese journalists. The other thing
I'm really proud about withthis program is that the journalists
that are being funded throughthis program truly are all across
the state. They are, you know,to use an example, they're at a newspaper
(14:38):
in Flagstaff, they're at aradio station in Yuma, they're at
a TV station in Tucson, theyare at a digital startup in Phoenix.
And that is intentionaswellinwell, fragmentedworldwhereweknowthat
no oneplatfor
Well, and that's intriguing tome, especially given how consumers
consume news in so manydifferent ways. You know, the newspaper
(15:02):
on the front doorstep or in myhandheld device, we get our informatoninso
manydifferentways ways atdifferent times during the day. And
I going tomakeanimpact,especiallyonatopicasimportantas educationsolutions,wereallydohave
tomeetthereadership,thelistenership,wheretheyare,andprovidethemopportunitytoseetheseimportantstoriesin whateverformat
(15:24):
thatmightcome.Youhadmentioned,inadditiontothe journalisticenvironmentandcreatingstoriesandeditorialopportunities,thatthereisalsoan
investmentfromthesenewsroomsfromapublicserviceperspectiveandthat theyaresupportingitwithadditionalspaceintheirmediaoutlet
fortheseimportantmessages.Sotalkalittlebitabouthowthatcommitmentisworkingandwhat kindof
(15:50):
informationwillbesharedfromthepublicserviceside.
Yeah. So I think this isanother example of where the scale
of the new media associationwe built a couple of years ago, 400
media brands that participatein this collaborative and coalition,
as well as the goodwill tocome together knowing that if we
want to tackle big challenges,we got to work together. So we have
(16:16):
an ad network that runs allacross the Arizona Media Association
that's fllyfocusedon on publicservice style messaging. And it basically
adinventoryforpublicservicemessagingabout whatevertopicis needed.Sowe're
dedicating We're dedicating agood chunk of that inventory, thanks
to agreements and partnershipsfrom media brands across the state,
(16:38):
to have 30-second ads thatstart running about things like what
we've been talking about, andto have full-page and quarter-page
ads in newspapers starttalking about this, or display ads.
And again, I placeisgoingtobetheendall,beallsolution.That'swhy weare
fundingthisjournalism in oneplace is going to be the end all,
(17:03):
be all solution. That's why weare funding that whileeducationis
ourlaunchfocus types ofnewsrooms, singlemostimportant topicbecauseittoucheseverythingelsewe
add that while education isour launch focus, and it's arguably
theanythingelse.Butwewanttotakethismodelandwe'reactivelyworkingto moveandaddjournalists
(17:25):
andother topicstoo,whetherit'shealthcareor need, we
can't build anything else. Butwhatwehave done here model, and we're
actively working we'retryingtoleverageand,andto takethe,youknow,wegottagutcheckandpinchourselvestoo.
Andrememberthatweraised$2millioninphilanthropy in
just done here is somethingreally fascinating that we're trying
(17:47):
to leverage. And to take the,you know, beenable gut-check and
pinch ourselves, too, andremember that we raised $2 million
in philanthropy in just ahandful we didn'thavelocal not normal.
That is magical. And I thinkthat speaks to the unique community
(18:08):
project that we've beewhatweto design and innovate on and also
the partnership that so manylocal excitedaswell.Becauseaswecontinueto
on. It wouldn't work if wedidn't have local media partners
that all said, "yes, thiscollaborative is necessary and it's
critical to the future of ourstate and it's what we want to invest
(18:31):
our time in as a newsroom."That gets me up in the morning and
has me super excited as well.Because whoaregoingtogoallinonatopicthatjustcandidlywasn'tgettingenoughcoverage.,"W+,,
"
And I think that might be oneof the most powerful components of
this is really thecollaborative nature of the project.
(18:51):
And that these newsrooms thatare competing on a daily basis for
good stories, are competingfor advertising dollars, are competing
for subscriptions, forviewership, for readership, have
said this is an importantinitiative to participate in because
of the topic. And Iwholeheartedly believe that the role
(19:11):
of journalists and the role ofthe news media is to bring forth
important information to theconsumers. And for this level of
organizations to commit todoing this and doing it in a very
cooperative nature is a prettypowerful statement. And I think really
speaks well to our colleaguesin the media here that they recognize
(19:33):
a topic as important aseducation. And those others that
you mentioned that are futureplans, really is what their role
is supposed to be, which is tobring forth information to consumers
so that we can make smartdecisions and make smart investments
in the things that areimportant to us because of this unbiased,
objective, thoughtfulreporting and information sharing
(19:56):
that comes from the members ofthe press. And I think the fact that
they've agreed to work intandem and cooperatively is a pretty
powerful statement to thesuccess of the initiative in the
future, for where it can go.
To that point, one of thestatistics I'd love to share with
you comes from an annual mediaresearch study we fund. Once a year
we hire an LA-based company togo audit how are Arizona consumers
(20:20):
using media today? Because itchanges so fast. And we dove into
trust as one of the topics inthe 20 25 study. And there was one
statistic in particular that Ithink is the biggstopportunityin
in front of us. And when itcomesto whatisthepercentageofpeoplethat
saytheyhavetrustinlocalnews--we'renottalkingaboutcable not
talking about cable news,we're not talking about national
(20:43):
news. We're talking about thelocal news in your community. ndthenumberisastonishinginourcommunitythat
86%. If we still have trust inthe people in our community that
are telling us about what'shappening on the most local level,
andtakeacollaborativelikethisandtakethat 15journalists
(21:04):
oneducation,maybewecanturnitinto30before theendoftheyear
oneducation,maybe wecandoubleeducation. Maybe andadd another40or
50 journalists.We alsorebuildlocal 50 journalists. We also rebuild
local news from the insideout. And we news inofaprojectlikethisone.
(21:27):
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of Copper State of Mind.
If you enjoyed theconversation, please share it with
a colleague who might alsofind this podcast valuable. It's
todo,justclicktheShare the"Share" button in the app you're
topassitalong.YoucanalsofollowCopperState ofMindinApplePodcasts,Spotifyoranyotherpodcastapp.Wepublish
(21:48):
newepisodeseveryotherFriday.CopperState ofMindis broughttoyoubyHMAPublicRelations,
theoldestcontinuouslyoperatingPRfirmin Arizona.Theshowisrecordedandproducedbytheteamat
Speedof Arizona. The show isrecorded and Phoenix, anddistributed
byPHXFM,theleadingindependentB2Bpodcastnetworkin Arizona.
(22:13):
For allofushere at PHX.fm,storyandPHX independent B2B podcast
network in Arizona. For all usus here at Speed of Story and PHX.fm,
I'm Adrian McIntyre. Thanksfor listening and i. W
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