This session is part of 2025 Crossover Day. Attendance is open to all SXSW EDU registrants as well as all SXSW registrants. As always, SXSW strongly believes in the power of mixing creative communities.

National news on higher education is often bleak, but most Americans attend college within 25 miles of home. New models for local news are rising, allowing journalists to tell stories on the ground about educational prospects in rural and urban areas, at minority-serving institutions, and through community colleges. This panel will explore how local news can help rebuild trust in higher education and strengthen higher ed for all, how colleges and universities can play a role in improving local news deserts, and how education stakeholders can engage with local news outlets to tell stories that better reflect today’s students.