The Beacon relies heavily on what people in our communities tell us they need to know more about. That brings more impact and credibility to our reporting.
The Beacon’s approach comes at a time when local news outlets are declining at a rapid rate. The Pew Research Center reports that 85% of U.S. adults believe local news outlets are at least somewhat important to their community’s well-being.
I’ve seen an increase in stories sourced from community voices through our online tip submission form. It’s a way for you to tell us where you need better news coverage. Our tips are coming in at more than twice the rate they did last year.
Our story tip submissions come from people like you who visit our website or social media and submit story ideas about things that matter in your lives. Your trust in us with information and sources are often used to identify stories and guide our reporting.
We also gather story tips from people who go to listening sessions held by our Community Journalism Lab on health, education, housing, labor, and local and state government. A great example of this is the interaction with the traffic series written by our local government reporter Josh and how that led to a deeper community conversation.
Local news is made for local residents, like you. You can make a difference simply by weighing in —at Beacon events, through our tip line, by sharing your insights. Your thoughts could inspire smarter news coverage that’s more valuable to you.
