Today the National Trust for Local News is announcing a new model of community journalism to support and transform local news in the fifth largest media market in the U.S.

This new model, a public media community anchor, represents our second major community journalism innovation.

With direction from the National Trust for Local News, KERA, the public media organization serving North Texas, is stepping forward as a community anchor for the Denton Record-Chronicle, the primary local newspaper for Denton County. Through this first-of-its-kind partnership, the century-old newspaper plans to become part of KERA, constructing a formidable ecosystem of local journalism.

A NEW MODEL OF COMMUNITY JOURNALISM

For community newspapers and public media stations across the country, the partnership of KERA and DRC will serve as a promising and innovative new model for community journalism:
 

• For public media stations like KERA, acquiring an established community news publication creates a trusted hyperlocal community news partner, expands a loyal audience and cultivates a deeply connected and knowledgeable reporting staff.
   

• For community newspapers like DRC, becoming part of a mission-aligned, independent news nonprofit brings operational efficiencies, fundraising capacity, expanded audience and access to new formats of civic-oriented news and information, including visual, digital and on-air mediums.
   

• By supporting strong collaboration in a network of local newsrooms, this new model can provide more robust and more relevant hyperlocal news and information services for communities across a region.

   

THE TRUST'S ROLE

In May 2021 Bill Patterson, the owner of the Denton Record-Chronicle, reached out to the National Trust for Local News for guidance and support as he assessed his succession options. With deep knowledge of the public media sector, the Trust quickly identified KERA and its new leader, Nico Leone, as a fantastic potential partner for the newspaper. Working with DRC and KERA, the Trust then devised a plan for the potential acquisition and is serving as an intermediary for both parties throughout their discovery and planning process.

NEXT STEPS

In addition to facilitating the transaction and integration of these two entities, the National Trust for Local News will work with KERA and DRC to measure the impact of this new model on economic sustainability, civic engagement, public accountability and community social cohesion in the North Texas region.
 

KERA and DRC are currently concluding their discovery phase and are fundraising to close the acquisition in 2023. This model is one of four that will be supported through the Trust’s $17.25 million Community Journalism Impact Fund I. The Trust is seeking supporters for this fund.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR LOCAL NEWS

The National Trust for Local News is a nonprofit dedicated to keeping local news in local hands. We work with communities to catalyze the capital, new ownership structures, and business model transformations needed for established local and community news organizations to thrive and remain deeply grounded in their communities. Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, co-founder and CEO of the National Trust for Local News recently led a major research project in 2019 studying public media mergers with digital news sites. You can read more about our work at www.ntln.org.