Neal Notes

Dispatches, updates, and field notes from the Prize community — a living record of the work, and of the people who keep faith with it.

Small figures climb a long staircase built on a downward-sloping line graph beside chat-bubble icons, symbolizing public trust in news falling to a record low.

Trust Hits a Record Low

Global trust in news fell to 37% — the lowest the Reuters Institute has ever recorded — and platforms and chatbots now outrank news sites as the way people find the news.

From the Prize Community

Jun 27

Neal Notes issue plate - No. 03, June 2026.

Neal Notes | June 2026: Can Local News Survive AI?

The June issue gathers five dispatches on trust, AI, press freedom, and investment in local news.

Newsletter Issues

Jun 27

A lone writer works at a desk lit by a single lamp amid a vast field of scattered papers, symbolizing original reporting that stands out from AI-generated aggregation.

Reporting Your Way Out of the AI Trap

Casey Newton is steering Platformer toward original reporting; Sharon Goldman launched Ground Level AI. Two more journalists betting that the durable moat isn't the platform — it's the work.

Field Notes

Jun 27

A vibrant green seedling grows from an old printing press in a town square, symbolizing new public funding taking root in local journalism.

The Money Is Finally Moving to Local News

A breakthrough year for public funding: ~$74M reaching local newsrooms via new state laws, plus Lenfest's $1.8M in Philadelphia, a $20M California fund, and $500K in Washington fellowships.

From the Prize Community

Jun 27

A lone journalist stands silhouetted in a narrow doorway between heavy stone walls, symbolizing shrinking press access to the West Bank.

The Shrinking Door to the West Bank

France's Alice Froussard was deported by Israel amid a broader lockdown on West Bank press access; CPJ reports a four-year sentence for Tunisian journalist Khaoula Boukrim.

Field Notes

Jun 27

Portrait of Neal J. Conan, 1949–2021, framed in an oval with a laurel wreath.

Help Shape the Inaugural Neal Conan Laureates

An archived May community poll, updated September 29 with a link to the announced inaugural 2027 Neal Conan Laureates.

Neal Conan Laureates

May 29

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Stories on press freedom, the Prize community, and the work of the Neal Conan Prize Winners and Neal Conan Laureates — once a month, on the last Saturday.