If scrolling through 2024 news left you with the impression that the election was the only thing going, then the results of PublicSource’s reader outreach may shock you.
Readers were invited to review the major storylines reflected in PublicSource’s coverage, cast votes for must-follow topics and suggest areas for coverage in the new year.
Seventy people weighed in. While the voting instructions indicated only one vote per question, some readers selected more than one storyline, and in the interest of democracy, we’re reflecting all of their choices here.
As for that presidential election, which famously closed with dueling Pittsburgh-area rallies by Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris — it got a fistful of votes.
But far more readers valued local coverage.
Which 2024 storyline was your favorite?
Winner: The Innamorato effect
Around one in three readers highly appreciated coverage of Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, who was inaugurated after a campaign focused on inclusion, had to contend with the housing and shelter crisis, and ended the year by raising property taxes to keep services intact.
Close second: Housing shortage endures
With the number of people in shelters or living on the streets sometimes topping 1,000 in the county, readers were glad for deep coverage of emergency facilities and affordability efforts.
Runners-up:
- LGBTQ folks targeted in a contentious election season in which the GOP took on trans rights
- Environmental efforts extended, chronicling the region’s efforts to get greener
- The PPS plunge, exploring Pittsburgh Public Schools’ responses to enrollment dips
- Immigration’s promise, challenges — Pittsburgh’s takes on the nation’s migration issues
Which other storyline would you like to sit and have a drink with?
Americans are famously said to choose candidates based in part on who they’d like to have a beer with. Asked which storyline they’d share a beverage with, around 20% of the PublicSource audience pulled up a chair next to the housing shortage or the Innamorato effect, with smaller-but-significant numbers winking across the bar at the environment and immigration — among the favorite storylines indicated above.
Other storylines toasted by readers:
- Jail care unbound, chronicling the use of medication-assisted treatment in the county lockup
- History shadows housing, connecting past discrimination and enduring segregation
- North Side buzz — development and gentrification concern from East Allegheny to Manchester
Which storyline are you particularly keen on following in 2025?
Unsurprisingly, readers want more on housing, the county administration, the environment, schools and immigration.
Also on the watch list:
- Grant Street penury, or: the tough fiscal choices facing Mayor Ed Gainey and Innamorato
- University billions, on the endowments of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon
Other storylines people want in 2025
Twenty participants suggested topics they’d like to see explored this year, ranging from the fairly obvious to the delightfully niche.
Areas of interest:
- Robotics and other tech, how enterprises are funded and why great ideas sometimes fizzle
- How race and disability intersect in an uneven and ableist society
- The 2025 race for mayor of Pittsburgh
- LGBTQ issues and trans rights, including debunking false assumptions
- Tensions — especially on campuses — involving allegations of Islamophobia and antisemitism
- Vacant homes, tiny houses, and how they could help with the affordable housing shortage
- Climate change, who is addressing it, and who is hindering progress
- Transit, cycling, pedestrian safety and other alternatives to the auto
- Labor organizing in Southwestern Pennsylvania
- Comprehensive planning in the city and county, and how it could affect climate efforts
Message received! Thanks for your input and readership.
Stephanie Mirah is the audience growth and engagement producer with PublicSource. She can be reached at stephaniemirah@publicsource.org.
Rich Lord is PublicSource’s managing editor and can be reached at rich@publicsource.org.
