As artificial intelligence becomes more common in journalism, one question matters most: what do audiences actually think about newsrooms using AI?

In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton is joined by John M. Humenik, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer for Local Media Association, and Lynn Walsh, Assistant Director of Trusting News, to unpack findings from a new national survey on AI and journalism.

The survey — conducted with more than 1,400 local news consumers — offers rare, audience-driven insight into trust, transparency, and the role humans must play when AI is involved in news production.

• Why nearly 99% of respondents say humans must review AI-assisted journalism
• Which AI uses audiences are most comfortable with — and which raise red flags
• How transparency and disclosure affect trust in AI-assisted news
• Why AI familiarity among audiences leads to greater acceptance
• How newsrooms can use audience feedback to shape ethical AI policies
• Why AI literacy may be a trust-building opportunity, not a threat

Humenik and Walsh also discuss how newsrooms can responsibly experiment with AI, communicate openly with their communities, and use audience expectations as guardrails — not obstacles — as technology continues to evolve.

The full survey report is available at localmedia.org and is designed to be used inside newsrooms as a discussion and decision-making tool.

Keep It Local is a podcast from Local Media Association focused on sustainability, innovation, and the future of local journalism.

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Lookout Local turns five this year — and its story offers one of the clearest roadmaps yet for rebuilding local journalism.

In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton talks with Ken Doctor, founder and CEO of Lookout Local, and Ashley Harmon, the organization’s chief of staff, about how Lookout launched during one of the most turbulent moments in modern journalism — and emerged with a sustainable business, a Pulitzer Prize, and expansion underway.

Topics include:

• Why Lookout rejected the “start small” approach
• What made covering the Santa Cruz floods a defining moment
• How community engagement and revenue work together
• Why reporter visibility matters more than ever
• How Lookout’s app, newsletters, and short-form video strengthen relationships
• Lessons learned expanding to Eugene-Springfield
• What profitability really takes in local news
• Why Lookout believes this is an unprecedented moment for local journalism

This is a candid, practical conversation about what it actually takes to build a modern community newsroom — and why optimism may be justified heading into 2026 and beyond.

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Giving Tuesday strategies for newsrooms with LMA’s Kristyn Cooper

Show Notes:

On this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton sits down with Kristyn Cooper, director of fundraising initiatives at the Local Media Association, to explore how local newsrooms can make the most of Giving Tuesday. Cooper shares insights from two decades in the nonprofit world—covering how to normalize fundraising, connect storytelling to generosity, and build long-term donor relationships.

Listeners will learn:

• How Giving Tuesday evolved into a $3.6 billion global movement
• Why journalists already possess the skills to be great fundraisers
• Best practices for donor engagement and impact storytelling
• Simple ways to make giving easy and friction-free