Important news stories aren't something to find “out there.” You can find them right where you are, and you can find them right now.

News Happens Here motivates, teaches, and empowers students to make the most of the news stories that are constantly unfolding around them. Whether it's on a college campus or in their local communities, aspiring reporters can cover important issues that not only teach the craft of journalism but also set them up as vital contributors serving their communities and the public.

Reporting from campus sidewalks, student unions, coffee shops, and town halls, student journalists play an important role covering issues including climate change, gun violence, immigration, protest movements, and student debt. They can illuminate systemic issues, challenge outdated norms, and contribute to rebuilding vibrant modern media ecosystems in their own backyards.

Across five interconnected sections written by journalists and journalism professors from across the country, News Happens Here blends current practical skill-building and best practices with the theoretical principles that inform them. Students learn the fundamentals of reporting, writing, interviewing, audio and video storytelling, accountability journalism, solutions journalism, trauma-informed practices, and the basics of media psychology. Chapters cover how to build trust with sources, evaluate ethical choices, choose story forms and formats, and story craft that strengthens civic belonging.

Full of real-world examples, reflective exercises, and practical tools, News Happens Here empowers emerging journalists to understand their campuses, serve their communities, and revitalize local journalism. This book prepares students for a variety of careers that can benefit from reporting skills, instilling passion for the public service.

Barbara G. Friedman is an Associate Professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (USA), where she teaches news writing, media literacy, and media history.

Erin Siegal McIntyre is an Assistant Professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (USA) and an investigative author, multimedia journalist, and photographer.

Nazanin B. Knudsen is an Assistant Professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (USA).

Rhonda Gibson is a Professor and Director of the journalism master's program in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill (USA).