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News, information and much more for independent online news publishers. 
Nonprofit and citizen-led efforts step up to fill gaps in local news
 
The pace of nonprofit media growth is picking up, but there are serious questions about investment in local nonprofit news efforts.

"In general, national nonprofit media outlets attract more funding than local news operations. This lack of support for local news is coinciding with an increase in the number of 'news deserts,' regions without viable commercial or nonprofit news organizations."

In some communities, including East Lansing Info in Michigan, citizen-led efforts are emerging.
Related: A fledgling nonprofit aims to cover eight communities north of Boston. New project allows users to identify local media by ZIP code. 54 newsrooms, 9 countries, and 9 core ideas: Here’s what two researchers found in a yearlong quest for journalism innovation.

How the loss of local newspapers is affecting communities
 
"About 1,800 local papers have closed or merged since 2004, according to data from researchers at University of North Carolina. The reasons for newspaper closures are well-known - internet advertising destroying the traditional business models, readers moving towards more online and more free news. In Boulder and in nearby Denver, there's also a question of ownership," the BBC writes in a new piece about the decline of U.S. daily and weekly newspapers.

"Penelope Muse Abernathy, a professor and researcher at the University of North Carolina, says the closure of community newspapers means more than a loss of information.

"Local news sets the agenda for public debates by bringing particular issues to public attention, encourages regional business development by connecting local businesses with local residents (whether through ads or coverage) and can reflect what's similar or different about a national problem on the local level, she says.

"'A strong local newspaper shows you how you are related to people you may not know you're related to,' Abernathy says."

Related: How much is your newspaper worth? The answer could be nothing (or close to it).

Early bird rate available now for LION's annual conference

The world's largest gathering of local independent online news organizations will return to Chicago this fall, and right now you can take advantage of a discounted early bird rate for the 2018 LION Summit Oct. 11-13.

This year's conference will feature an opening day boot camp for idea-stage local news entrepreneurs and fledgling local independent online news publishers, and then two full days packed with an array of speakers, panel discussions and networking opportunities devoted to revenue ideas and best practices, community engagement and sustainability.
 

Russian campaign exploited Americans' trust in local news

"Russia's information attack against the United States during the 2016 election cycle sought to take advantage of the greater trust that Americans tend to place in local news.

Meanwhile, Facebook touts fight on fake news, but struggles to explain why InfoWars isn't banned. It knows the truth is messy; what it doesn't know is how to clean up all the fake news it is helping to spread. Facebook might downrank the most vile conspiracy theories. But it won’t take them down.

Related: When local journalists come under attack.
 

News About Local Independent Online News Sites
 
BRONX: Mott Haven Conversations: A Community Reporting Project in the South Bronx.
 
EVERYBLOCK: Comcast to end hyperlocal experiment Everyblock.
 
FLORIDA: The Florida Phoenix is a new news outlet dedicated to covering Florida state government and politics with four aggressive, top-tier veteran reporters.
 
GEORGIA: Local independent online news site East Cobb News celebrates first anniversary.
 
MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts' CommonWealth Magazine will go digital-only.
 
NORTH CAROLINA: How an impact and reach scorecard helps Carolina Public Press gut-check its journalism.
 
SPIRITED MEDIA: Consulting for other media companies becomes a new revenue stream for Spirited Media, the folks behind Billy Penn, The Incline in Pittsburgh and Denverite.
 
 
Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue
 
AD TECH: How Algorithms Have Added a Scientific Twist to Marketing. What if people were paid for their data?
 
BLOCKCHAIN: Can blockchain save journalism? Manoush Zomorodi doesn’t know, either, but she’s going to find out.
 
EVENTS: Spokesman-Review holds local events, engages existing readers. Journalists see their work adapted for the stage: Can it help break prejudice?
 
FUNDRAISING: Online Fundraising: How Public Media Measures Up to Other Nonprofits in 2018.
 
GDPR: Layered consent? Legitimate interest? A guide to speaking fluent GDPR. ‘It’s impossible’: Google has asked ad tech firms to guarantee broad GDPR consent, assume liability.
 
MOBILE: Mobile traffic has caught up with desktop. Are you prepared?

NEWSLETTERS: More than 11,000 people are paying (yes, paying) for email newsletters on Substack’s platform. What’s in a Newsletter? At The New York Times, There’s a Secret Sauce. Want real email results? Stop focusing on the open rate.
 
PLATFORMS: Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads: Where is Your Audience Likely to Engage?
 
PODCASTING: Washington Post Builds Tech That Dynamically Inserts Ads Into Podcasts.
 
SERVICES: To Get Ahead, Newspapers are Moving Beyond the Banner Ad to Offer More Creative Digital Services.
 
SPONSORED CONTENT: ‘The whole industry has to think about quality’: Hearst UK introduces new metric to prove branded content works.
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Three reasons digital newspaper subsciptions are a hard sell (and three potential fixes). Digital news subscriptions are a potent revenue generator. The road to growth: How The Times (UK) reaches 500k subscribers milestone.
 
VIDEO: In Alabama, a small-town paper is figuring out digital advertising — and they’re doing it live. USA Today finds there’s still money to be made from feel-good videos on Facebook.
 
 
Tools and Tips: Journalism and Technology
 
BUSINESS REPORTING: ‘No comment’: The death of business reporting.

COLLABORATION: Journalists across Ohio are working together and collaborating with their communities.

DRONES: Drone storytelling: Changing how we capture the world.
 
ENGAGEMENT: The promises and pitfalls of reporting within chat apps and other semi-open platforms: A journalist’s guide. Don’t be an Askhole: Toward an ethical framework for engagement. Tegna asks viewers: What do you want to know about the news? Constructive journalism: a cure for reader disengagement?
 
 
FOIA: FOIA ‘one of the last tools’ for clarity on the family separation crisis. USDA to stop giving media early access to crop reports.
 
IMMIGRATION: Tools for covering ICE.
INSTAGRAM: On Instagram TV, Media Audience and Product Pros Take a Wait-and-See Approach. BBC among news outlets adopting new Instagram TV platform in bid to reach younger audiences on demand. Where will Facebook’s growth come from? Instagram.
 
OBESITY: How the media covers obesity in America.
 
PHOTOGRAPHY: Visual storytelling lessons from Humans of New York.
 
STORY COMMENTS: How the Middle East’s Al-Hudood eases even its haters into reading its irreverent satire.
 
STORY FORMATS: Tool for journalists: Mural, for creating an engaging storytelling experience.
 
STORYTELLING: Why we were captivated by the story of 12 boys trapped in a cave.
 
TIME MANAGEMENT: The best tools to unclog your overflowing email inbox. How to Schedule Your Social Media Updates More Efficiently.
 
TRADE: How one reporter is covering the trade war.
 
TRUST: Why Publications Need to Keep the Public Editor Role Alive in the Fake News Era.
 
 
Industry News
 
AMAZON: Amazon is changing the rules for how local governments buy goods — and putting cities, counties, and school districts at risk.
 
APPLE: 10 Ways Apple Can Rebuild Maps to Become an Innovator in Local.
 
CHICAGO: New owners plan ‘more diverse’ Chicago Reader.

CRAIG: Craig Newmark explains, through stories, why he funds journalism.
 
DIVERSITY: News stories in Europe are predominantly by and about men. Even photograph sizes are unequal. The Philadelphia Inquirer created a diversity and inclusion position. PressPad aims to tackle one small part of journalism’s class diversity problem.
 
FACEBOOK: How Facebook Checks Facts and Polices Hate Speech. Facebook Gives Researchers ‘Full Access’ for Election Studies. The Guardian view on government controlling social media: the start of a long road.
 
FAKE NEWS: WhatsApp on its misinformation problem: ‘Fact-checking is going to be essential.’ Explaining journalism to Rep. Jim Jordan.

GATEHOUSE: GateHouse offers buyouts to newspaper employees across New England.
 
GOOGLE: Google Speed Update is now being released to all users. Why Google’s Mobile Speed Update Smells Like Trouble for Small Businesses. Google Asks SEOs if Domain Changes Result in Loss of Traffic.
 
GROUPON: Groupon is up for sale. Assessing its current strengths.

NET NEUTRALITY: A revamped California net neutrality bill is moving forward again.
 
NONPROFITS: La Presse’s new not-for-profit structure “a leap of faith.”
 
PRESS FREEDOM: Capital Gazette reporter’s tweet should be on every newspaper’s masthead. Journalist arrested by ICE claims he was targeted for his work. Non-white journalists describe risks and repercussions of covering protests in the U.S.
 
PRINT: Loudoun Times-Mirror to be sold to Ogden Newspapers. Lakeway Publishers, Inc. has sold the Osceola News-Gazette located in Kissimmee, Fla. to American Hometown Publishing Inc.
 
REDDIT: Reddit — one of the world's most popular websites — is trying to cash in through advertising.
 
TRUMP: The reporter who is making Trump pay $48,000 more in taxes.
 
TWITTER: Twitter is sweeping out fake accounts like never before, putting user growth at risk. Top accounts have lost millions of followers. Locked and inactive accounts are also being targeted. “Most people will see a change of four followers or fewer.” Why isn’t its war on trolls working?
 
UNIVISION: Univision Eyes Sale of Fusion Media Group.
 
YOUTUBE: YouTube Debuts Plan to Promote and Fund 'Authoritative' News. YouTube will now notify some creators when their videos are stolen. YouTube says it has a plan to stem the flow of misinformation videos.
 
 
Upcoming Events

LION ANNUAL CONFERENCE: LION's annual conference, the country's largest gathering of local independent online news organizations, will be held Oct. 11-13 at Columbia College, Chicago.

LEGAL HOTLINE: LION members now have access to ASNE's Legal Hotline. And at noon Tuesday, July 17, attorney Kevin Goldberg will host a live video session explaining more about the new and improved Legal Hotline, update you on ASNE's advocacy efforts, review some topics that are trending nationwide and, of course, answer your questions.
 
WEBINARS: INN will host a webinar on July 18 on Nonprofit Board Governance. Nonprofit news leaders won't want to miss this special executive virtual training around board roles and responsibilities, how they shift over a nonprofit’s life cycle and strategies to keep the board composition in alignment with the organization’s needs and much more.
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