Guest Essay

Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit: The future of local news is sitting in a student newsroom 

By Charlotte Varnum

July 16, 2026

This essay is part of a series of reflections from the 2026 Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit sharing insights, lessons learned, and key takeaways from the conference, which was hosted in partnership with Press Forward. Access additional Summit resources here. 

Some of the most important conversations about the future of local news are being shaped by loss: shuttered publications, shrinking newsrooms and communities left without reliable sources of information. At this year’s Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit, I joined nonprofit news leaders from across the country as we grappled with those realities. As executive director of The Red & Black, I spend much of my time thinking about sustainability and what it will take for our organization to thrive for another century. 

While much of the country worries about the collapse of local news, I left the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit convinced that one of its most promising futures is already taking shape in news organizations like my own.  

At the Summit, I became increasingly aware of how unusual my organization is — and how valuable that difference may be. In a moment when communities across the country are searching for sustainable local news models, organizations like ours may already hold part of the answer.  

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Founded as a student newspaper 133 years ago and now operating as an independent nonprofit for more than 45 years, The Red & Black has a dual mission. We provide free, reliable news to the University of Georgia and Athens communities while simultaneously training the next generation of journalists and media leaders. Our newsroom is entirely student-led, with students making editorial decisions, reporting stories, and serving audiences with remarkable professionalism and commitment. They’re supported by full-time professional journalists, like myself and others, to preserve the integrity of our journalism.  

That service extends across platforms. We publish digitally, through audio and video storytelling, and maintain an important physical presence in our community through a commitment to sustainable print publications, including newspapers and glossy magazines. In a media environment that often assumes print is a relic of the past, we have found that tangible journalism still matters. A newspaper picked up in a coffee shop, a magazine displayed in a local business, or a special print edition commemorating a community moment (in our case, often Georgia Bulldogs football games) creates connections that digital products alone cannot replicate. 

Working as a journalist in the national and international space for years, I returned to local news in 2021 when I joined The Red & Black. I have spent countless hours with our staff, board, alumni, and students asking tough questions about sustainability. How do we preserve this institution for another 133 years? How do we ensure that local communities continue to receive trustworthy journalism? How do we prepare future journalists to serve a rapidly changing media landscape? 

At the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit, I realized that these questions are deeply connected. 

At the Summit, I spent most of my time in sessions built to equip small teams like mine. I am the primary fundraiser for our organization, and not only did these sessions give me the playbook for “how” to get the work done, they taught me the power of defining our “why” to help us connect with supporters, donors, and funders. These conversations range from the practical, such as why we need funding to support our operations and infrastructure, to more philosophical, like why our community needs a reliable, free press. Walking away with these new skills around messaging has given me renewed confidence and clarity to plot a course for major fundraising efforts for our organization. 

In most news organizations, serving today’s audience and preparing tomorrow’s journalists are separate endeavors. At The Red & Black, they are one and the same. What has been built here over 133 years may offer something larger than a local success story: a model for how independent, student-led news organizations can strengthen their communities today while ensuring there will be a free press to serve them tomorrow. 

At The Red & Black, our value to the community has only grown. Our readership continues to expand, our journalism reaches audiences in the millions, and our students approach their work with a level of dedication that consistently exceeds expectations, though struggles to meet the demand given funding limitations. They cover city government meetings, investigate issues affecting students and residents, and document the moments that define our community. They do this not as an exercise or classroom assignment, but as working journalists committed to serving the public. 

The future of local news will not be solved by one model alone. But I left the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit convinced that independent, nonprofit, student-led news organizations deserve a prominent place in that conversation, and a meaningful place in philanthropy’s investment strategies.  

In an era defined by news deserts and declining trust, organizations like The Red & Black offer something powerful: a sustainable commitment to both local journalism and the journalists who will carry the profession forward. By serving communities today across digital and print platforms while training the free press of tomorrow, we are proving that the future of local news may already be sitting in a student newsroom. 

Charlotte Varnum is executive director of The Red & Black Publishing Co. and a part-time instructor at University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.