Who’s watching the city? Why local journalism still has teeth

07/01/2026 28 min Episodio 69
Who’s watching the city? Why local journalism still has teeth

Listen "Who’s watching the city? Why local journalism still has teeth"

Episode Synopsis

In this episode, Paul talks with Michael Phillips, the founding editor of The Richmonder, a nonprofit news outlet based in Richmond, VA. Michael shares his journey from sportswriter to civic watchdog, the challenges of launching a nonprofit newsroom, and how The Richmonder is rekindling local media engagement. From covering City Council meetings no one else would to building trust one newsletter at a time, Michael breaks down what makes local journalism matter and why being general interest is a radical choice in today’s media landscape.



Links:



The Richmonder

https://www.richmonder.org/



Michael Phillips - LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-phillips-16139462/


---
This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, helping local news publishers produce revenue generating podcasts. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
---
Subscribe to the Local News Industry Pulse newsletter to receive a weekly briefing of news, policy, trends, and more in the local news industry: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://localnewsindustrypulse.beehiiv.com/subscribe⁠
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices