On December 2nd, Northwest Arkansas business and community leaders gathered in downtown Bentonville for a discussion hosted by Heartland Forward and the Northwest Arkansas Council about how access to information helps communities better understand the challenges they face and then move that insight to action and problem solving. 

The panel featured Adam Ganucheau of Deep South Today, David Rousseau of KFF and Luis Gonzalez of the Walton Family Foundation. It was moderated by Angie Cooper, president of Heartland Forward.

“At Heartland Forward, we believe informed communities are empowered communities — and empowered communities drive economic opportunity. Our mission is to accelerate growth across the 20 states in the middle of the country, and we know that access to information is foundational to that progress. As we work toward our goal of generating $500 million in economic impact by 2030, partners like Deep South Today, the Walton Family Foundation and KFF play a crucial role in ensuring communities have the information they need to act, collaborate, and thrive.” – Angie Cooper, president, Heartland Forward

Here are five takeaways from the conversation:

1. Good information is civic infrastructure for solving problems.

Panelists emphasized that issue-focused, nonpartisan information is an essential aspect of civic infrastructure building. When residents and leaders have clear, contextual information about issues ranging from public health to economic development to transportation and housing, they can make smarter decisions. Nonprofit newsrooms are one part of that information infrastructure designed to provide that kind of depth, clarity and consistency.

2. Philanthropic investment in journalism has measurable community benefit.

Luis Gonzalez, the deputy communications director of the Walton Family Foundation, explained how the foundation’s support of local nonprofit journalism is driven by evidence that strong, independent reporting creates more informed communities and encourages positive change. When residents have access to trustworthy local news, Gonzalez noted, they are better equipped to participate in civic life and support long-term regional growth. Among several examples, he described WFF’s support for coverage of agriculture and environmental issues that impact farmers along the Mississippi River Basin.

3. Local accountability reporting drives real-world impact.

Adam Ganucheau, Deep South Today’s executive editor and chief content officer, highlighted how reporting surfaces systemic problems and provides communities and leaders with the information necessary for policy change. The network’s newsrooms include Mississippi Today, Verite News in New Orleans, The Current in Lafayette and a soon-to-launch Arkansas newsroom that will provide content to media outlets across the state. Ganucheau pointed to DST’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Mississippi newsroom, where reporters in 2023 brought human-centered reporting that elevated the stories of new Mississippi mothers who needed state lawmakers to grant them additional Medicaid coverage. The journalists worked with partners like KFF Health News to publish critical data that showed the benefits of the policy extension in other states and their work kept the public engaged with lawmakers during weeks of legislative debate. In the end, their  reporting moved the needle and helped inspire key elected officials.

4. National–local newsroom collaboration strengthens the entire journalism ecosystem.

David Rousseau, the publisher and executive director of KFF Health News, described how his newsroom has partnered with more than 3,000 newsrooms, many of them local. National analysis, data, polling and reporting from KFF help local journalists — including those in Deep South Today’s newsrooms — report more fully on complex health issues, while local reporters help national journalists understand how those issues affect real people. In 2024, KFF Health News collaborated with public, nonprofit and commercial newsrooms across Colorado to explore how medical debt was impacting low-income and vulnerable Coloradans. As a result of this award-winning reporting, Colorado passed a law prohibiting hospitals from suing patients through debt collectors, and the series was cited in a federal rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. KFF’s shared data, reporting collaborations, freelancer support and republication agreements help communities everywhere access stronger information. KFF looks forward to extending its partnership with Deep South Today into Arkansas, Rousseau said.

5. Listening to communities is the first step, because communities know what they need.

Ganucheau emphasized that work in Arkansas will begin with listening to community leaders and residents. “Everywhere we’ve been, we’ve gone straight to people on the ground and asked them what they need from journalists,” he said. That approach has shaped the success of the network’s newsrooms in Mississippi and Louisiana and will guide the model in Arkansas.