About 15 months ago, I was having coffee with Matt Singer, an acquaintance from my long-ago days in Missoula, who was passing through Helena on a snowy December morning.
Singer is the founder of National Voter Registration Day, a nonpartisan civic holiday that each September creates broad awareness of voter registration opportunities. National Voter Registration Day leverages the strength of volunteers, organizations, businesses and influencers to spread the word about the importance of preparing for Election Day by registering to vote.
“Millions of Americans want to vote, but they miss the deadlines or fail to find the right paperwork,” Singer said. “So we decided to create a single day of action to remind everyone to act before it’s too late. Over the years, it’s grown and helped millions of Americans do that thing they’ve been putting off until the last minute: update their voter registration.”
We wondered: Why isn’t there something like that for local news?
I pulled out my smartphone and checked whether the URL for “LocalNewsDay.org” was available. It was. I bought it. The snowball began to roll.
Over the ensuing months, I called newsroom leaders across the country to ask for their thoughts on a national day of action to raise awareness about the value of local news and grow local news audiences. Everyone agreed it was a worthwhile effort and said they would love to participate.
Working with Singer and his team at Impactual, a social impact and creative agency, we began reaching out to partners across the United States. We assembled a volunteer steering committee of publishers, communications experts, hyperlocal journalists and other visionary leaders to help inform and guide the effort. Partner organizations and newsrooms stepped up to help spread the word and offer training sessions.
The idea that took shape over a cup of coffee a few blocks from Montana Free Press’ Helena, Montana, office has now become a national movement that will culminate in the first-ever Local News Day. So far, more than 1,200 newsrooms, nearly 200 partners and 14 sponsors have signed on to participate in the inaugural Local News Day.
On Thursday, April 9, people, businesses and organizations all over the country will stand up in person and online to support their local news outlets. The ask is simple: Take at least one action to celebrate or engage with local news that extends beyond your typical media routine. Some possibilities:
- Subscribe to a new local newsletter. (You can find links to local news outlets participating in Local News Day here.)
- Send a comment to the newsletter creator telling them what you’d like to see from it in the future. (You can tell them Local News Day inspired you to do it.)
- Share a local news story you found useful or interesting on social media with #LocalNewsDay.
- Email 10 friends a link to your favorite local news outlet and urge them to sign up for a newsletter, SMS alerts or an upcoming event.
We are also asking news organizations to participate by taking one action on April 9 focused on connecting with local readers, listeners and viewers. This could be:
- Holding an event
- Launching a new news product and ensuring it’s emailed to some of the people most directly affected.
- Dropping their paywall for the day.
MTFP will showcase our commitment to local reporting with a live online discussion featuring MTFP Editor-in-Chief Heather Tal Murphy, reporters Nora Mabie and JoVonne Wagner, photojournalist Lauren Miller, and me. We’ll pull the curtain back on our coverage of how federal immigration policies are impacting communities from Froid to Helena. That conversation will take place at 6 p.m., and you can participate by registering here.
In addition to our live Local News Day event, we’re also giving our loyal readers an opportunity to help us grow — and earn some sweet swag in the process! Encourage your friends and neighbors to subscribe to one or more of our free newsletters using your unique referral link (which you can request here), and you can earn a limited-edition MTFP/Local News Day Yeti travel mug and a 17-inch tote. You can find the full details here.
The principles behind Local News Day are simple and rooted in the foundations of MTFP: Strong communities rely on strong local news and information. With a decade of thorough, independent, local journalism, MTFP has demonstrated what’s possible when a newsroom centers public service, editorial rigor and community trust.
MTFP, along with its partners, is leading this national effort to make Local News Day a lasting civic tradition. On April 9, we aim to generate millions of touchpoints between communities and local news providers, amplifying the value of local news and information in everyday life.
Because when people start local, they stay connected.
Core to our effort is the development of the Local News Finder, a free tool that helps Americans discover trusted local news sources covering their communities. Built by our partners at Newspack, Automattic, and WordPress — and powered by mapping technology from Local News Day sponsor Google — the tool offers a simple, visual way for users to discover local news outlets covering the issues that matter most in their communities.
“Local journalism is strongest when our neighbors can easily find and engage with what’s happening around them,” said Ron Smith, executive director of Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and Local News Day steering committee member. “The Local News Finder makes it easier for people to stay connected to their communities.”
The Local News Day team is grateful for the incredible partners and sponsors who have signed on to help make this vision a reality, including Press Forward, Automattic, Newspack, WordPress, Google News Initiative, BlueLena, ActiveCampaign, Flamboyan Foundation, The New York Times, Headwaters Foundation, Lenfest Institute for Journalism, and GroundTruth.
These partnerships are collaborative and rooted in shared purpose.
Montana Free Press is proud to lead this effort, and we’re humbled by the growing coalition that’s building around this work. Together, we can help establish a new national tradition that strengthens the backbone of civic life.
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