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While ample scholarly attention has focused on the effects of news deserts in local communities, very little academic literature has examined the goodbye discourse in the final statements of local newspapers. This article critically explores the collective identity communicated by news organizations during critical incidents such as COVID-19 that proliferated the existing journalism crisis. Guided by new institutionalism theory, this article examines closure statements from 67 local news outlets using critical discourse analysis (CDA). Findings reveal that news organizations use these statements to memorialize institutionalized journalistic myths by valorizing local news. The analysis also reveals the fundamental issues of mythicizing traditional journalism furthered through the creation and proliferation of community news myths. Although critical incidents provide an introspective platform for journalism, our findings suggest that the newspaper crisis will continue without addressing the ideological basis of the normative values and practices that have continuously been reinforced in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mainstream news outlets continue to ignore Indigenous people or cover them inadequately, resulting in mistrust and alienation by the former towards the latter. Yet, ways to meet Indigenous peoples' needs for accurate media representation is understudied and undertheorized. Based on 16 in-depth interviews with Native and Indigenous citizens, we develop a conceptual framework of situated multidimensional representation to elucidate the agentic processes for citizen journalists to empower members of various tribal affiliations. Findings reveal that citizen journalists' situated knowledge and expertise encourages humanizing Indigenous people, engenders media trust through evoking feelings of relatability and belonging, and strengthens Indigenous identity by foregrounding the focus on complex personhood. Our analysis highlights a need for transforming conventional journalistic values and relationship building practices to incorporate marginalized Indigenous perspectives. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]