Local News Network
Aiding news outlets throughout Maryland by creating important localized news content and by teaming those news outlets with student reporters.
Strengthening Local News Since 2022
Launched in the summer of 2022 thanks to an anchor commitment from the Andrew and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund, the Local News Network helps news organizations across Maryland with original reporting, voter guides, journalism research and local news-focused programs, and provides students with opportunities to make an impact at the local level through its internship program.
Featured Projects
The News People Need (2026)
The Local News Network conducted a human-centered design study by listening to people in Maryland about what "jobs" they need news organizations to do in today’s media landscape. Over several months, the team recruited and conducted deep-dive, open-ended interviews with a wide range of 17 Maryland residents across regions of the state and different ages, ethnicities, professions and news behaviors.
The study findings explain how news organizations can begin to create journalism that is more actionable, useful and indispensable.
Maryland General Assembly Primary Voter Guide (2026)
The Local News Network surveyed all 235 General Assembly candidates who faced a competitive primary, and 141 responded. Candidate responses were published in an online database organized by primary race. Student journalists also did background checks on all the candidates.
The database is paired with several stories on findings from the responses and background checks. The topics include candidates’ perspectives on President Donald Trump, the state’s budget problems, housing affordability, data center development and a state ban on entering agreements with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
The Student Experience
Student go beyond the classroom, learning to be a journalist at the local level and getting opportunities to make an impact. Involvement includes:
- Reporting projects and voter guides to support Maryland news outlets.
- Summer internships with stipends at local news outlets, typically done in the sophomore or junior year. The stipends cover living expenses and summer tuition credits.
News
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Merrill College's Local News Network Publishes 'The News People Need' Study on the Needs of News Consumers
The Local News Network conducted a human-centered design study by listening to people in Maryland about what "jobs" they need news organizations to do in today’s media landscape.View Article Details for Merrill College's Local News Network Publishes 'The News People Need' Study on the Needs of News Consumers -
The News People Need: A Local News Network Study
One of the most pressing problems weakening the local news ecosystem has little to do with revenue or technology. The problem is the journalism itself.Much of what made newspapers, radio newscasts and TV news programs indispensable to people in the 20th century was not the journalism but what surrou...View Article Details for The News People Need: A Local News Network Study
About The Local News Network
Merrill College launched the Local News Network in the summer of 2022 thanks to an anchor commitment from the Andrew and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund. The college created the Local News Network to strengthen local news coverage throughout Maryland while providing students with invaluable experience in local news reporting.
Award-winning journalist Jerry Zremski leads the Local News Network. Zremski was the Washington bureau chief for The Buffalo News from 2007-2022 and a reporter for the publication since 1984. He spent two stints as a Merrill adjunct lecturer before joining the full-time faculty. Zremski serves as lead instructor for a midlevel reporting course focused on beat reporting.
Leadership
Jerry Zremski
Klingenstein Family Endowed Chair in Journalism; Director, Local News Network; Lecturer
Connect With Us
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Get More Information
For more information on the Local News network, email Jerry Zremski at jzremski@umd.edu.