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News, information and much more for independent online news publishers. 
Things you learn running an online news business

"Seven things I've learned running an online news media business" -- some of these lessons will no doubt resonate with you.

After many years working for large media organizations, LION member Jim Brady is learning "how to be small" and offering early lessons from his Billy Penn site in Philadelphia.

Related: Why journalists should care more about media business models.


LION member spotlight: Mission Local

"Anyone starting a media site should partner with a technology expert, because our traditional sites are not the future. However, they give any team a terrific platform for figuring out the future and testing possibilities. My guess is the answer - the future of local news - is going to come from a local site, but a local site with a technology partner."

Check out this week's LION member Q&A with Lydia Chavez, publisher of Mission Local in San Francisco.


'The readers we ignore and the news they want'

Damon Kiesow has a smart look at the disconnect between traditional newsroom structures and millennial and digital-native audiences. He sees huge opportunity for local news organizations to serve "digital-savvy readers (who) live seamlessly between online and offline."

"By ceding 'things that happen online' to Internet blogs and digital news start-ups we have washed our hands of a huge swath of human existence. And, we have done so for reasons that are as much due to structure and vision as resources.

"This is not a 'millennial' problem. It is a gap we face with any digital-friendly audience."

Nieman Lab examines the issue further, suggesting many news organizations are missing out on a potentially loyal local digital audience.


Facebook offers 55% revenue share for videos

On the heels of its "Instant Articles" launch, Facebook is offering publishers a 55 percent revenue share on videos they upload directly to the site.

It's also tweaking its news feed - no surprise - to give greater weight to video.

Related:

Mark Zuckerberg has some thoughts on the future of news.

Facebook is experimenting with how you consume news.


What's the impact of 20,000 fewer journalists?

"We can only guess at the math: How many fewer stories — online as well as in print — are 20,000 fewer journalists producing? What don’t communities know about themselves that they might have known a decade ago?"

Ken Doctor looks at 10 numbers that define the news business today.


The case, and a guidebook, for more journalism collaboration

"... Quality local news is critical to healthy communities and ... sustainability for that kind of reporting depends in part on collaborating across news organizations and with your community."

Josh Stearns of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation makes the case for more collaboration among news organizations, and outlines some best practices and resources.


Ned Berke leaving indie site he founded to join new company

LION member Ned Berke is leaving Sheepshead Bites in New York, the site he founded seven years ago and sold last summer to Corner Media. He's joining Steve Waldman's new company, LifePosts.

"Sheepshead Bites has one of the largest audiences in New York City community publishing, straddling all of the neighborhood’s ethnic, socio-economic, age and ideological demographics. It makes you unwieldy, but it also makes you feared – and it shows to the world that despite our differences, we do and forever will come together in our passion for Sheepshead Bay and its surrounding neighborhoods," Berke wrote in a farewell message.


Breaking away from the usual ad-funded topics

How do we pay for journalism on issues and topics that just don't lend themselves to natural support by advertising? Is crowdfunding a viable alternative? Here's a look at "an interesting attempt to address the decline of trust in journalists, to free journalists to write about new topics and to guard against declining online advertising CPMs."


Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue

CROWDFUNDING: Capital New York takes a look at the Lo Down's successful crowdfunded journalism project relating to small business survival in New York.

CROWD EQUITY: The game changer that crowdfunded equity could be for startups.

KNIGHT CHALLENGE: The first Knight News Challenge of 2016 will focus on libraries.

AD INNOVATION: Media companies should embrace innovation in advertising or throw in the towel.

SOCIAL MEDIA: What local merchants are missing with social media.

ON DEMAND: The on-demand economy: a local media growth engine or death knell?

AD BLOCKING: Ad blocking technology's collateral damage: publisher data.

PROGRAMMATIC: The past, present and future of programmatic advertising.

FACEBOOK VIDEO: Facebook is offering not to charge advertisers for video ads unless they've been seen for at least 10 seconds.

ANALYTICS: Are data analytics too slow to deliver value for most companies?

YELP PRICING: Yelp ads are deemed overpriced, slowdown in growth predicted.

LOCAL DIRECTORIES: Is local directory advertising making a comeback?

52 REVENUE IDEAS: In case you missed it, our most-clicked item from last week's LION newsletter: 52 business ideas to support local journalism.


Tools and Tips: Journalism and Technology

BUILDING TRUST: Jeff Jarvis on building trust in news.

MOBILE: Things we can learn from the late Circa about a broader way to think about structured news.

GOOGLE'S GITHUB: Google has launched a Github competitor.

PODCASTING: Easy ways to start podcasting from scratch.

COLLABORATION: Josh Stearns on best practices in collaborative journalism.

FACEBOOOK VIDEO: Facebook has tweaked its news feed to give more weight to videos.

HEALTH CARE: After the court decision, plenty of opportunity for journalists to look at insurance industry consolidation.

AGGREGATION: The problem with every news aggregation app.

CITIZEN JOURNALISM: Startup hopes to save news with an army of citizen journalists.

SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM: Solutions journalism brings data and good news together to engage readers. And give your investigation a twist with solutions journalism.

DIGITAL SKILLS: True digital expertise takes much more than multimedia skills.

CODING: Links and resources from the conference for journalism coders.

SOCIAL SHARING: The future of social sharing: dark and private?

FINDING AUDIENCE: After journalism, how to market content to digital readers.


Industry News

LAYOFFS: Newspapers have been laying off journalists across the country in recent weeks, apparently ahead of the July 1 start of a new fiscal year for most. Eight left the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Digital First accepted buyouts from its executive editor, editor, sports editor, chief photographer, a copy editor and a sports editor at The Saratogian and Troy Record in New York, a month after cutting its digital editor and city editor positions, among others. The Brattleboro Reformer and Bennington Banner also lost their top editor and former top editor, along with a reporter and news clerk who had worked in the Brattleboro newsroom for 40 years. Although layoffs appear to be happening across the country at Digital First, it's hard to know the extent. John Robinson argues that newspapers should be transparent with readers and write about their own layoffs.

OVERTIME: President Obama's new overtime rules could have a huge financial and workflow impact on struggling newsrooms.

GANNETT: Gannett's newspapers are officially their own company now, after splitting from the company's TV division. The company has a new logo and says it's a "next generation media company." Meanwhile, a U.S. journalism union is offering support to striking Gannett workers in the UK.

HUFFINGTON POST: Huffington Post wants to recruit 900,000 unpaid contributors to join the 100,000 that already add to the site. The company is also launching film and TV divisions. The New York Times looks at HuffPo's "insatiable content machine." And Mathew Ingram identifies the big issue with its expansion plan.

APPLE AND FACEBOOK: Apple and Facebook are hiring human editors to supplement algorithms.  Is this a new trend? And a Dow Jones executive warns against news companies putting too much into partnerships with tech platforms.

BUZZFEED'S THEFT: How Buzzfeed steals other people's videos and breaks them apart into gifs.

JOURNALISM PAY: How badly are journalists paid? It depends on where you live.

BRANDED CONTENT: The New York Times aims to double its branded content.

BIG FOIA BILL: A Texas city told Gawker that fulfilling a FOIA request for emails relating to that cop's treatment of a girl at a pool party would cost $79,000.

GOOGLE BIAS: Yelp claims that Google is skewing search results. Mathew Ingram argues the claim is off-base.

AOL AND MICROSOFT: AOL has taken over a majority of Microsoft's ad business and will be using Bing to power its search.

MEDIASHIFT: MediaShift, an excellent source of information about digital news publishing, has formally split from PBS and envisions a "collaborative future."

PHILLY UNION: The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News have agreed to a new union contract, avoiding a threatened strike.


Is Your LION Publishers Membership Up for Renewal?
 
For many of our LION Publishers members, it's time to renew! Your membership includes participation in the LION Publishers Den on Facebook, networking and support from fellow LION publishers, our new newsletter, discounted rates on media liability and directors and officers insurance and more. 

Plus, being a member gives you access to a members-only rate to the LION Summit – a savings of up to $175 compared to the non-member rate. If your membership is due for renewal, please go to www.lionpublishers.com/members/dues to submit your payment. Those who opt for multi-year membership save, and easy, secure payment options are available via credit card or through Paypal. (Not sure when your membership expires? You can look it up easily on LIONPublishers.com.)

Thanks to our current members who have already renewed!

 
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