Weekend reads: Slowing down the news
A Q&A with Jeremy Klaszus, founder of the Calgary outlet The Sprawl
At Lean Out, we often write about what’s not working in Canadian media — but we also want to highlight what is working, particularly when it comes to local news. As such, we have an ongoing series on independent outlets, featuring discussions with entrepreneurs that are dreaming up innovative solutions to our industry’s most pressing problems. We have profiled Village Media and kawarthaNOW, and interviewed the authors of What Works in Community News? on the podcast.
Today, we bring you a conversation with the founder of an online outlet in Calgary, The Sprawl. This hyperlocal site focuses on slowing down the news cycle, publishing one in-depth, reported podcast a month, along with a weekly newsletter. It’s a refreshing formula, and The Sprawl produces the kind of calm, thoughtful journalism that we most admire.
In this edited and condensed interview, editor-in-chief Jeremy Klaszus shares his thoughts on the current crises in media — from the fragmented information ecosphere and news fatigue, to lost trust and failing business models — and why thinking small might just be the solution.
TH: Jeremy, you and I met at a recent news forum in Ottawa. Since then, I’ve enjoyed exploring your work. You have been a journalist for close to 20 years. In 2017, you launched The Sprawl, a hyperlocal journalism site in Calgary, and then the Sprawlcast, a monthly podcast that does a deep-dive into civic affairs topics, such as housing. What made you decide to found an independent outlet?
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