The changing landscape of local news was the focus of a recent University of Hartford panel discussion, “Local Beats, Vital Streets,” held in Wilde Auditorium.
Panelists Hartford Courant Executive Editor Helen Bennett, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, and Connecticut Mirror Managing Editor Stephen Busemeyer explored the challenges facing traditional newsrooms and how community journalism can fill gaps in local coverage.
Moderated by Associate Professor Deepa Fadnis, director of UHart’s digital media and journalism program and editor of the student-led Reporting Hartford, the discussion examined how digital media has changed news coverage and the balance between reporting what audiences want to know and what journalists believe they need to know.
Opening the event, UHart President Lawrence P. Ward emphasized journalism’s vital role in bringing communities together and moving them forward.
A central theme of the discussion was how digital and social media have changed the relationship between news organizations and their audiences. With editors now able to track readership and engagement in unprecedented detail, journalists face an ongoing question: Should they prioritize stories audiences actively seek out, or focus on issues they believe the public needs to understand?