This thread might be TL;DR so a summary in two tweets:

I want local news sources to provide a package of premium services that keep me informed about one or two issues of key importance to me - especially for coverage that is timeboxed.

For services I want some or all of:

Topic-specific email newsletter
Customized text or push alerts
Customized section on the web or apps
Aggregated links to coverage from other media outlets
Explainers, summaries, analysis, data
Notices of events/meetings related to the topic

I moved to Columbia, MO two years ago and despite (J-school faculty) not being typical, relocation provides an interesting view on local media / information needs.

This is not going to be a critique of local media here or generally (Mizzou operates one of the two local newspapers and the NBC and NPR affiliates) but rather the disconnection between audience and news generally.

Moving to a new town resets your local knowledge (obviously) and some of your news interests. For instance - CoMo just canceled the very popular Heritage Festival this year - I did not know there was a Heritage Festival.

For the first year or so I was reading the local news rather aimlessly. I did not know where the roundabouts where that were under debate, or where the new middle school was. So I was reading, but not really understanding.

This "aimlessness" is certainly true of many casual news readers, not just newcomers. Many industry discussions focus on what stories or topics or marketing we can do to attract and engage these readers.

About 12 months in, I started to get up to speed on local politics. But only after a specific topic struck close to home: school redistricting. We were not urgently concerned since whatever plan was approved would be after our son graduated.