205 A mission is to transform global news coverage by recruiting, training and then employing women journalists world-wide.
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
Release Date: 09/17/2023
314 Scholar Stuart Brotman sounds the alarm: Free expression is under fire
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
Free expression in America isn’t collapsing all at once — it’s eroding quietly, often in ways the public barely notices. In a wide‑ranging conversation, First Amendment scholar Stuart N. Brotman warns that political pressure, platform power and public misunderstanding are reshaping the boundaries of press freedom in real time. Drawing on decades of experience across academia, government and media policy, Brotman makes the case that the next few years will be decisive. And he argues that local journalism may be the strongest remaining force capable of rebuilding trust, civic...
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313 Rewriting the California story: USA Today bets big on statewide local journalism
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
California isn’t just a state. It’s a story still being written, and USA Today wants a front-row seat. With the launch of Today Californian, the national news giant is investing in a bold new experiment: statewide coverage designed to meet readers wherever they are — from inbox to Instagram. “We’re positioning ourselves as highly relevant,” says Greg Burton, the project’s editorial lead. The goal? To create a digital-first newsroom that feels local, acts regional and delivers impact at scale. Access more at this episode’s landing page, at:
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312 From hauling freight to holding judges accountable: Mark Puente’s fight for courtroom access
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
Mark Puente didn’t go to j-school — he drove trucks for 15 years before stepping into a newsroom. But when a judge tried to block him from observing a public court hearing, Puente didn’t flinch. Armed with experience, instinct, and a phone call to his editor, he stood his ground — ready to risk contempt rather than walk away. What followed wasn’t just a clash over access, but a moment that reveals why blue-collar grit still matters in American journalism. Access more at this episode’s landing page, at:
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311 Half of U.S. teens think journalists make up quotes and do favors for sources, new report finds
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
If you think young people aren’t paying attention to the news, think again — they are, and they have thoughts. A new study reveals just how skeptical today’s teens are about the press, and the results should make every newsroom take notice. From questions of fairness to fears of fabrication, Gen Z is forming strong opinions about who to trust. In this episode, we dive into what teens really believe — and why it matters for the future of journalism. Access more at this episode’s landing page, at:
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310 A global perspective on what news publishers must do next
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
Robert Whitehead believes the news industry is entering a make-or-break era defined by AI disruption, collapsing platform traffic and growing public distrust. In a conversation with E&P, he said generative AI is “as transformative as electricity.” He warned that publishers are still distracted by “shiny objects” instead of rebuilding the fundamentals that audiences actually value. His new report, authored for the INMA, outlines why newsrooms must urgently rethink distribution, trust, and brand experience to survive. And unless publishers rapidly differentiate their value and...
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309 Stars and Stripes at a crossroads: Inside its mission, press freedom challenges and digital future
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
For more than 160 years, Stars and Stripes has walked a razor-thin line: serving the U.S. military while holding it accountable. Publisher Max Lederer says that balance remains as vital — and as fragile — as ever, noting that “our staff are paid by the Department of Defense” even as the newsroom is mandated to stay “balanced, objective, independent and impartial.” Today, new Pentagon access rules, collapsing trust in media, and seismic digital shifts are putting that independence to the test. Lederer argues the mission endures because “we are dedicated to telling the story of the...
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308 Jim Slusher on rebuilding trust — and why his new book aims to “nudge the world”
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
For nearly five decades, Jim Slusher has been one of the Midwest’s most thoughtful voices on what journalism owes its readers — and how it earns their trust. As managing editor for opinion at the Daily Herald, he’s spent his career pulling back the curtain on newsroom decisions and defending the value of open, honest dialogue. Now, with his new book To Nudge the World, Slusher is challenging both journalists and audiences to rethink how truth and trust are built in an era of noise and doubt. His message is clear: transparency isn’t a luxury for journalism — it’s the lifeline that...
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307 Why visuals still matter: Inside NPPA’s fight for the future of photojournalism
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
In a world overwhelmed by AI-generated imagery and shrinking newsroom budgets, the value of authentic photojournalism has never been more at risk — or more essential. The National Press Photographers Association is sounding the alarm: visuals aren’t just decoration, they’re the backbone of truth, trust, and emotional connection in journalism. In this exclusive interview, NPPA Vice President Lauren Steinbrecher and Grady College’s Mark E. Johnson break down why local publishers, students, and reporters must fight for the future of visual storytelling. Because if we lose the image, we...
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306 The Medill Report on local news: More urgency than optimism
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
Local news is collapsing at an alarming pace — more than 3,500 newspapers have vanished since 2005, with 130 disappearing just last year. In this episode, we interview Tim Franklin and Zach Metzger of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, the researchers behind the 2025 State of Local News report, which paints a dire picture of vanishing watchdogs, expanding news deserts, and a shrinking connection between journalism and the communities it serves. Yet amid the bleak data are signs of reinvention, from public radio stations stepping up to statewide networks and philanthropic...
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305 Best‑selling author & journalist Beth Macy returns home in Paper Girl
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
Journalist & best‑selling author Beth Macy returns to the town she once delivered newspapers in to ask: what happens when the civic fabric fractures and no one is left to tell the story? In her new memoir Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America, Macy digs into her hometown of Urbana, Ohio — exploring how the collapse of local news, growing economic despair and social isolation reshaped a community she loved. Along the way, she argues that if journalism disappears from small‑town America, the consequences are national. Her message is clear: local reporting...
info_outlineCristi Hegranes is an award-winning journalist and founder of the Global Press Institute (GPI), a nonprofit organization that builds and maintains news bureaus in some of the world’s least-covered locations, like: Cameroon, Haiti, Kashmir, Mongolia, Nepal, Zambia and more.
The organization recruits local women in the areas and then implements a 16-week training-to-employment program in which they learn the principles and practice of investigative journalism. Upon completion, graduates are offered full-time, paid employment as reporters with GPI’s Global Press Journal (GPJ), which aims to “produce ethical, accurate news, to create a more just and informed world, with team members who are guided by four core values: dignity, diversity, transparency and excellence.”
In September 2023, Hegranes released her new book: “BYLINE: How Local Journalists Can Improve the Global News Industry and Change the World,” which features original interviews with some of the biggest names in journalism, including Nicholas Kristof, Carroll Bogert, Bobby Ghosh, Lauren Williams, as well as Global Press reporters across the planet.
In the book, Hegranes states that international coverage led by local journalists can restore trust in the entire news publishing industry. She explains, “to enact this solution, the industry will have to let go of many outdated assumptions about what news people want, who has a right to tell their story.”
In this episode of “E&P Reports,” we go one-on-one with award-winning journalist and founder of the Global Press Institute (GPI) Cristi Hegranes, whose new book: “Byline” makes a case that the global news publishing industry can become more sustainable by rethinking how it provides global news coverage by focusing on local news sourcing — as opposed to: “The flawed discipline of parachute journalism.”
Within the interview with E&P Publisher Mike Blinder, Hegranes cites recent GPI research indicating, “There is a deep reservoir of untapped demand from readers in the United States — across a wide range of demographics, including noncitizen, diaspora, and migrant populations — for international journalism that is local, precise and representative.”