Our Media Institute at Fresno State is proud to launch a new podcast series, Exploring Journalism’s Future, which delves into the challenges and opportunities facing news organizations today. This series features insightful conversations with thought leaders from the journalism industry and the philanthropic sector, highlighting how philanthropy is playing an increasingly vital role in sustaining local news.

I kicked off the season by explaining the purpose of the podcast and discussing some of the guests that will join us for every Wednesday over the next eight weeks. Professor Betsy Hays of the Fresno State Media, Communications and Journalism Department is hosting the series. One of our MCJ graduates, Lucca Lorenzi, is editing the series. You can listen to the first episode by clicking here and watch it on YouTube by clicking here.

The key takeaway from this first episode of “Exploring Journalism’s Future” is that we need to change the narrative about journalism. Instead of talking about layoffs and limitations, we need to strive for a re-imagination of journalism’s possibilities.

Over the next several weeks, we will discuss what is working and some of the exciting ideas for being developed to fix the broken business model of traditional journalism. In Santa Rosa, for example, the community has rallied around the Press Democrat and its sister publications. So they are not facing the economic threats that have decimated so many newsrooms across the country.

That’s why we are bringing in Eric Johnston, CEO of Sonoma Media Investments, for next Wednesday’s podcast to discuss how that Northern California community has been able to support its local newspaper. Is it an outlier in the journalism world or does it have some secret sauce that hasn’t been tried in other communities? Johnston will explain the dynamics that have led to his company’s success.

That podcast will be followed by a thoughtful discussion with Rusty Coats of Journalism Funding Partners about how philanthropy is helping to finance reporters in local newsrooms around the country. JFP is on track to distribute $6 million to U.S. newsrooms to hire local reporters.

Other guests in future podcasts will include Lauren Gustus, CEO & Executive Editor at The Salt Lake Tribune; Priscilla Enriquez, CEO of the James B. McClatchy Foundation; Faisal Karimi, a journalist in exile from Afghanistan, and Danielle Bergstrom of Fresnoland, a Fresno-based news site.

These guests will offer thoughtful perspectives on the future of journalism. We urge you to listen to each podcast when it drops on Wednesdays. You can get this season’s content wherever you access your podcasts.