The Power of Local News: Building Community and Trust
Elizabeth Stevens, executive editor of the Columbia Missourian, shares insights on the importance of local journalism, community engagement, and the evolving landscape of news media. Discover how local news impacts civic participation and how communities can support their local outlets.
About the speaker
Elizabeth Stephens is the executive editor of the Columbia Missourian, the Boone County Journal, and the Missouri Community Newspaper Management Chair. She is also an associate professor on the Journalism Professions faculty.
Stephens completed her bachelor’s degree from the Missouri School of Journalism in 2005 and her master’s degree in 2014.
Previously, Stephens served as digital director for the Missourian and KOMU-TV 8, the School’s NBC affiliate station.
Stephens first returned to the journalism school in August 2011 as a Knight fellow at the Missourian, serving in that role for two years. Stephens joined the Missourian and the School’s faculty full-time in 2015. She took on the executive editor role in January 2021. She also worked in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Columbus, Georgia.
She and her husband live on 10 acres south of Columbia and have two daughters in elementary school.
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