Strengthening Community News in Chicago

This summer, the University of North Carolina’s “Business Models for Community News in a Digital Age” initiative produced three workshops for community and ethnic media in Chicago.

This initiative harnesses the skills of UNC professor Penny Abernathy and journalism students who helped small, rural North Carolina community newspaper develop an Internet presence and provide lessons learned for similar news organizations.

Like their counterparts across the country in urban and rural settings alike, smaller community and ethnic news organizations in Chicago have struggled to establish a digital strategy. From July to September, Abernathy hosted a series of  seminars at the Community Workshop that shared lessons learned from local Chicago news organizations including, Hi India, Extra and the Chicago Crusader. Missed the presentation? Download the PowerPoint slideshow and video from the seminar.