Lost Storytellers

Community journalism in the era of clickbait

Achilling, incisive, and firsthand look at the landscape of community newstoday, Lost Storytellers argues thatthe decline of local journalism threatens the future of democracy. Award-winningphotojournalist John Pendygraft asks: How did Americans lose trust in themedia, and how can their local newsrooms earn it back?

Pendygraft uses his own experiences at Florida’slargest newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times,to illustrate why trusted local reporting matters more than ever in the era of“fake news,” clickbait, conspiracy theories, and social media. Throughinterviews with his colleagues, the history of his own beloved paper, journeysinto the evolutionary psychology of storytelling, and examples of the waysmulti-national media conglomerates hook readers on news cycles of chaos andcrisis, Pendygraft argues that community journalists can reclaim their roles aslocal storytellers—and that the public good demands that they try. Lost Storytellers offers insights forall who feel confused about the media, politics, and the well-being of theircommunities in the information age.