As data centers spread across the country, communities are asking urgent questions about water, power, land use, tax incentives and public benefit — and local journalists are being called on to find the answers. In this E&P exclusive, reporter Tandy Lau explores what it’s like for reporters on the front lines of the data-center boom — how they’ve mastered an emerging beat, navigated public concerns and uncovered the local consequences of Big Tech’s far-reaching expansion.

As AI-generated cartoons and columns make their way onto opinion pages, newsrooms face increasingly urgent questions about standards, transparency and trust. In his latest “News Media Today” op-ed column, E&P’s Rob Tornoe examines some recent controversies over AI-generated content and argues that publishers need clear rules for how — and where — the technology is used.

With the 2026 midterms fast approaching, newsrooms are preparing for an election shaped by national politics, questions about election security and voters hungry for trustworthy information. For E&P’s October cover story, Editor-in-Chief Gretchen A. Peck spoke with reporters and editors at Votebeat, The Associated Press, The Daily Beast and The Salt Lake Tribune about how they’re planning coverage before, during and after Election Day.

Amsterdam News is expanding its partnership with Column to strengthen its legal notice operations, create more capacity for growth, and gain access to new high-volume notice business from the large organizations in Column’s Automated Placement network placing across New York.

As AI changes how consumers find and choose local businesses, publishers have an opportunity to help advertisers remain visible. Duda provides the technology and insights publishers need to improve discoverability, measure business results and deliver those services at scale. The result can be stronger advertiser relationships and new recurring revenue.

A lawsuit can threaten a newsroom long before a court decides who is right. Holger Roonemaa, head of the investigative and fact-checking desk at Delfi Estonia, says an investigation into a political donor’s influence led to a claim seeking more than €400,000 against the publisher and its reporter. Reporters Shield covered the newsroom’s legal defense fees, helping preserve resources for further reporting. Delfi won in the first court instance, according to Roonemaa, but the appeal remains pending and the investigation remains online.

A newsroom can win a lawsuit and still be destroyed by it. Years of legal bills, missed deadlines and relentless anxiety can accomplish what an unfavorable verdict never could: silencing journalists and frightening others away from the story. For a small publisher without in-house counsel or deep financial reserves, one legal threat can place the entire organization at risk. International media-freedom attorney Flutura Kusari warns that waiting until a demand letter arrives to build a defense may already be too late.

An interested advertiser shouldn’t become a lost sale while your team waits for creative. Mediaferry combines AI-powered ad production with human expertise to help publishers create better ads faster across print, digital and video. In this E&P webinar, Robert Berkeley and Tariq Husain explain how that approach reduces repetitive work and keeps campaigns moving from concept to completion. Watch to learn how faster creative can strengthen sales conversations and help turn advertiser interest into signed business.

Mentor Medier’s developers were spending time maintaining article pages and homepages that Francis Lundh believed a specialized provider could handle. As chief product officer of the Scandinavian publishing group and CEO of its technology company, Unite, he wanted that talent focused on subscription products. Moving to Labrador CMS gave journalists more control over daily publishing while allowing the company to step away from custom front-end development. The shift put its development resources behind technology designed to strengthen reader relationships and grow the subscription business.

Rob Galloway already knew The Center Square’s reporting from its daily newsletter. What he hadn’t realized was that The Center Square was an open-access newswire. A sponsored post made that connection—and gave him a way to supplement local coverage with statewide stories his readers had reason to care about. For a newsroom that can’t get to every important story, that discovery opened the door to more coverage of housing, fire and other issues that hit home.

A local advertiser may need more than another standard display banner. It may need a podcast recorded at a neighborhood brewery, a sponsored story, a newsletter placement, a print campaign or a large, interactive digital unit that commands attention. Independent publishers can make those choices because they know the businesses, control their inventory and can adapt without waiting for an algorithm. Uriah Kiser of Potomac Local News and Julie Beth Maglio of the Hernando Sun show how publishers can use that freedom to build campaigns the largest platforms are not designed to deliver.

Editor & Publisher (E&P) became the first publisher to earn AAM’s Ethical AI Certification, putting its own policies and practices through independent review. In this recorded E&P Solutions Series conversation, Publisher Mike Blinder, Editor-in-Chief Gretchen Peck and AAM’s Richard Murphy explain what the process revealed, what E&P refined and how responsible AI use supports both business growth and audience trust. Watch the discussion and download practical resources to help your organization get started.