From Restaurant Chatbots to Data Products: NTLN Announces Winners of First News Innovation Sprint

Preserving and strengthening local news requires a bold vision propelled by journalists in the field. To ignite fresh ideas and scale effective approaches at this pivotal time for local media, the National Trust for Local News (NTLN) launched its inaugural News Innovation Sprint, sponsored by the Google News Initiative.

Tom Wiley, CEO of the National Trust for Local News, said initiatives like the sprint represent an important component of the nonprofit’s growth strategy, which focuses on enhancing vibrant, independent local news, and relies on the insights of front-line reporters.

“The sprint put the power of innovation directly in the hands of our journalists,” said Wiley. “Our premise was simple – our best ideas come from the journalists who know their communities, understand their audiences and see the opportunities to grow the reach and impact of their journalism.”

A dozen journalists from NTLN’s state trusts in Colorado, Georgia and Maine pitched creative ideas to improve journalism, build larger and more loyal audiences and transform the business model. Pitches ranged from new storytelling formats to reader engagement tools to professional development and direct revenue drivers. Each finalist received coaching and guidance over several weeks from sprint facilitator Autumn Phillips, editor at large of The Post & Courier in Charleston, S.C., to hone their ideas in preparation for a virtual, live pitch event held in November.

“I was inspired by how much the front-line reporters and editors I worked with on this sprint are invested in the future of journalism,” Phillips said. “Their ideas were creative and based on real problems in need of solutions.”

“I feel a momentum building that doesn’t stop here,” she said.

Following deliberation by a team of volunteer judges, NTLN awarded multiple grants totaling $55,000 to activate the most promising concepts. Judges included:

• Marcus Brauchli, NTLN board member and co-founder of North Base Media, which invests in and advises media and tech startups. Brauchli is the former executive editor of the Washington Post and former managing editor of the Wall Street Journal
  

• Brooks Brunson, head audience editor, Gothamist/WNYC
  

• Stanfield Gray, founder of DIG SOUTH Tech Summit, Charleston Tech Week and co-founder of Moveflow.ai and Sage Human Intelligence
  

• Mizell Stewart III, NTLN board member and lifelong journalist, currently serving as professional-in-residence at the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State University and as president & CEO of Emerging Leaders, LLC, a coaching and consulting company
  

• Eli Pariser, co-director of New_Public, a nonprofit R&D lab in the social media space
  

“I think a process like this energizes people,” Brauchli said. “It gives them a real sense that their input matters and that their ideas can shape the future of the company.

“All of the finalists in this competition were outstanding. They took different approaches. They were addressing different needs, but all were thoughtful, and they were creative ideas that I hope, in many cases, will be implemented, and will make a difference for NTLN.”

The winners of the sprint, who received grants of varying amounts, will now implement their innovations in their newsrooms. All have potential to scale company-wide, following their test phase.

“All of these projects represent the kind of forward thinking that will help us build a vibrant future for local news,” said Wiley. “This is just the beginning. The Innovation Sprint is designed to become a repeated process – a way to continuously surface and test new approaches across the organization.”

National Trust for Local News’ News Innovation Sprint Winners:

Sean Sullivan (Innovation and Experiential Strategy Lead, Maine Trust for Local News) - $15,000 “The Main Dashboard”: A first-stop website combining a local news aggregator with data visualizations that track key economic metrics, offering an objective daily pulse on Maine's economy that doesn't yet exist in local news markets, with potential to package as a standalone newsletter for non-subscribers. It also creates new digital ad option and provides journalists with a faster tool for data-driven storytelling.

Suzie Glassman (Senior Education Reporter, Colorado Trust for Local News) - $10,000 “From Passive to Powerful: Reimagining Local Journalism through ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Tools”: Embedding interactive journalism tools into web stories that allow readers to experiment with budget tradeoffs, zoning determinations and other policy choices. The integrations will transform passive news consumption into civic engagement that generates more interaction than traditional coverage.

Claire Tighe (Deputy Managing Editor, Digital Strategy & Transformation, Maine Trust for Local News) - $10,000 “Skill Me”: A tool to help Maine Trust for Local News staff produce social-first content like short-form videos in minutes. It includes hands-on learning modules, expert-led training, and mentorship. This upskilling model would address critical barriers of staff training and technology access at a pivotal moment when the newsroom must deliver newsletters, social media, and app-based storytelling to reach younger audiences.

Katherine Lee (News and Culture Editor, Portland Press Herald) - $10,000 “Portland Restaurant Chatbot”: An AI-powered quiz tool that learns cuisine preferences, location, dietary needs, and occasions to deliver personalized restaurant recommendations in a fun, game-like experience. This feature would resurface evergreen food content and create subscriber conversion opportunities.

Kyle Dominy (Reporter, The Courier Herald) - $5,000 "Dublin: Slightly off the Record": A conversational podcast exploring community history and current events with local residents, offering a new, digital storytelling avenue. This podcast will reach new demographics and advertisers, showcasing the community in an engaging format.

Joshua Wilson (Editor, The Macon Melody) - $5,000 "Macon in a Minute": A series of 60-second Instagram reels blending archival material, community voices and modern production to transform Macon's legacy from static history into fast-paced, shareable journalism for mobile-first Gen Z audiences. “Macon in a Minute” won the People’s Choice Award, based on the votes from attendees of the company-wide, virtual pitch event.