Season 2, Episode 5

From news deserts to civic media

Some 2,500 newspapers have closed in the U.S since 2005, leaving entire communities without a source for local news, as well as with limited means to keep their government officials accountable. What if there was a way to fill the news desert, with an entirely new approach to informing the public? 

In this episode, we discuss the relevance of civic information with Mike Rispoli of Free Press, and then uncovers how that can be put into practice with Richard Young, founder of CivicLex, a non-profit that is bridging the gap between news and news consumers in Kentucky.

In this Episode

Mike Rispoli

Mike Rispoli senior director of journalism and innovation at Free Press and co-author of the Roadmap for Local News report. He joined Free Press in 2015 to help launch the News Voices program and lead the Civic Info Bill campaign, which led to the creation of the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, a first-of-its-kind nonprofit that invests public funding to strengthen local-news coverage

Richard Young

Richard Young, founding director of CivicLex, a civic media organization in Lexington, Kentucky. He is a practicing artist that has been working in and around civic engagement and community development for almost a decade. Richard has a deep interest in how creative process can positively impact democracy. When he’s not building the future of local media, he enjoys cooking, gardening, playing music, and spending time with his dog Oliver.