We live in a time of deep distrust—of each other, the media, and institutions of all kinds. In this volume of essays, innovativejournalists from newspapers, public radio, civic media groups, andnew media collectives examine how we've reached this point. Theloss of newspapers and fracturing of the information ecosystemhave weakened our sense of a shared identity, but many people havelong felt excluded, misrepresented, and unable to see themselvesand their experiences reflected in news reporting. These essayshighlight opportunities that are emerging as old practices give wayto the new demands of an engaged, diverse, and restive public. Theycall on us to create a more inclusive democratic narrative that bettercaptures the rich diversity of our nation and its complicated history.

About the Kettering Foundation

The Charles F. Kettering Foundation, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, operating foundation rooted in the American tradition of inventive research. Founded in 1927 "to sponsor and carry out scientific research for the benefit of humanity," the foundation is inspired by the innovativeness and ingenuity of its founder, the American inventor Charles F. Kettering. For the past four decades, the foundation's research and programs have focused on the needs of democracy worldwide.