At the turn of the (20th) century newspapers were the social media platforms of the day.
At the turn of the 21st century newspapers ceded that role, and their futures, to big-tech and the portals and silo-social networks.
The move to the fediverse gives modern news orgs a once in a generation opportunity to take that back.
Follow the lead of @TexasObserver and other news orgs that are launching their own instances for their staff/reporters and their audiences.