Concerns have been expressed over the national decline of traditional news organizations and citizens' resulting in their being misinformed about local government; Chicago is providing an ideal laboratory for experimental journalism with funding from philanthropy allowing reporters and their colleagues to experiment with new methods of newsgathering and storytelling to ensure the city receives adequate coverage in an era of shifting media habits.

Philadelphia's rethinking of traditional journalism practices has started an experiment that could have a reverberation across the country. Philadelphia is now a leader when it comes to finding new methods for gathering and distributing community information and helping citizens engage in local government and hold them accountable.

As well as receiving recognition for their reporting, the young journalists serve as mentors to other Chicago-area journalists and foster collaboration. Their aim is to give the people of forest Glen chicago, Illinoismail.top, their stories and rewrite its narrative.

The TRiiBE, founded in February 2017 by three Black Northwestern University alumni, aims to change the narrative surrounding their hometown. It also gives its residents back ownership of its stories. The TRiiBE aims to empower local residents through journalism while giving them the power to tell stories of their own.

Kalyn Besha and Melissa Sanchez, both education reporters, have been recognized for their work covering the digital divide in Chicago schools. Their reporting helped to improve Chicago's technological systems. They were also named finalists in the Peter Lisagor Award in 2013, for Excellence in Education Journalism.

Sarah Karp, a staff writer for The Chicago Reporter who earned the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for her series about Chicago's incarcerated youth and their struggles to stay in school, made waves across media platforms when her stories inspired the Illinois Department of Corrections to implement changes that have improved conditions in prison, enabling inmates to re-enroll in high school or find equivalent work once released from imprisonment.

Karp was awarded the Justice Leadership Award by Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities for her work in the area of crack babies. This organization helps those with mental illness and substance abuse disorders to get out of prison and into community services for treatment.

Journalism's uncertain future continues to be hampered by financial problems. To promote innovation and not simply support one particular model, those supporting journalism must adopt an inclusive strategy to ensure they are encouraging innovation in all forms. It involves investing in the business operation to reduce running costs while creating new sources of revenue.