Newsapalooza 2026: A Festival of Local News

Newsapalooza returns for a third year at Point Park University. Newsapalooza is a two-day festival celebrating the future of local journalism, built around one big theme: "Local News Lives Here".

It kicks off Thursday, Nov. 12 at the Center for Media Innovation (14 Wood Street) with a celebration of the CMI's 10-year anniversary.

On Friday, Nov. 13, the spotlight turns to conversations and interactive sessions featuring national and local journalists, anchors, students and community leaders at the GRW Theater at Point Park University (University Center). The day kicks off with a conversation featuring Heidi Przybyla, President and Founder of Get Real News, followed by a mix of live conversations and opportunities to connect with fellow journalism and community leaders.

Join us to celebrate storytelling, spark new ideas, and connect with the people shaping the future of local news. That future belongs to all of us.

⬇️ Explore highlights from last year's event ⬇️

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0t_bC3GRdU&t=2s

"Local News Lives Here"

In many parts of the country, local news is disappearing.

In Southwestern Pennsylvania, local news leaders are collaborating.

More than 40 news outlets across 10 counties are working to keep communities informed — covering school boards, borough councils, neighborhoods, courts, culture, business, elections and public life.

Through the Pittsburgh Media Partnership under the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University, this region has something increasingly rare: a collaborative local news ecosystem.

Local news is how people know what is happening around them: what decisions are being made, who is making them, where public money is going, what problems are being ignored, what neighbors are building - and how community members can be heard.

Newsapalooza is a festival celebrating Southwestern Pennsylvania as one of America’s local news capitals — a place where more than 40 newsrooms are still showing up, working together and telling the stories of our communities.

Newsapalooza celebrates that strength and invites the public into it.