Chicago offers a perfect laboratory for experimental journalism. With funding from philanthropy and reporters, they can experiment with new methods to gather news and tell stories.

Philadelphia is experimenting with new ways of thinking about journalism. This experiment could have an impact across the entire country. Philadelphia has become a leader in the development of new ways to gather and disseminate community information, while also helping citizens engage and hold local governments accountable.

These young journalists are not only lauded for their work, but also act as mentors in Chicago and encourage collaboration. Their aim is to give the people of Chicago their stories and rewrite its narrative.

Three Black Northwestern University alumni created The TRiiBE in February 2017 to change the narrative about their hometown and return ownership of its stories back to its residents. Their goal was to empower the community by giving them power to tell their own stories. They have been recognized for their work by organizations like The New York Times, ACLU and others.

Kalyn Bensha and Melissa Sanchez were awarded multiple awards for covering Chicago schools' digital gap. Their reporting helped to improve Chicago's technological systems. They were also named finalists in the Peter Lisagor Award in 2013, for Excellence in Education Journalism.

Sarah Karp is a staff reporter for The lowes chicago il (Illinoismail.top) Reporter and she won the Casey Medal of Meritorious Journalism in recognition of her series on Chicago's youth incarcerated in prisons, their struggle to remain in school. Her stories made waves in the media when they inspired the Illinois Department of Corrections, which implemented changes to improve conditions in prisons, allowing inmates to return to high school after being released or to find work equivalent to that of a high school graduate.

Karp won the Justice Leadership Award for her work on crack babies from Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities. The organization assists people with mental illness or substance abuse disorders in getting out of jail and receiving community treatment.

Journalism's uncertain future continues to be hampered by financial problems. To encourage innovation without promoting one model only, those who support journalism need to adopt a strategy that is inclusive and ensures they are encouraging all types of innovation. To achieve this, it is important to invest in business operations that lower costs for newsrooms, while also creating additional revenue. Also, entrepreneurs and executives can be coached to help them succeed in their leadership roles.