New fund will help local news sites pay for engagement tools
The Democracy Fund, Knight Foundation and Lenfest Institute have established a $650,000 fund to help journalism organizations pay for two listening and engagement tools from Hearken and GroundSource.
Local independent online news sites - both nonprofit and for-profit - have been specifically encouraged to apply for funding.
“Both are designed to help newsrooms make public-powered journalism — to listen to and share power with the public before and during reporting. Hearken’s technology is optimized for web-based interaction and GroundSource’s technology is optimized for mobile messaging and voice (SMS, Facebook Messenger, etc).”
LION, Center for Cooperative Media host Reader Revenue summit
LION and the Center for Cooperative Media are teaming up to host a day-long summit on Reader Revenue at Montclair State University in New Jersey April 6.
It will feature speakers and workshops on subscription and paywall models for local news sites, and how to launch and/or grow a voluntary paid membership program with readers.
Speakers from The Membership Puzzle, the News Revenue Hub and American Press Institute will be among the participants.
Information about a limited number of travel scholarships will be sent to LION members in the coming days.
Google launches local citizen journalism platform
"Google is testing a new tool for people to report and publish local news stories, called Bulletin. A website first spotted online Thursday describes Bulletin as 'an app for contributing hyperlocal stories about your community, for your community, right from your phone.' It’s designed to make it “effortless” to tell “the stories that aren’t being told” via your smartphone."
The service is being tested in Nashville and Oakland, and "sounds like a super-lightweight content management system, aimed at amateur journalists or anyone else who wants to live-blog a news event or report a news story in a way that has a chance to reach a broad audience."
"We've got an open mind about working with Google on any new tools relating to local news and information discovery," said LION Executive Director Matt DeRienzo. "In general, however, easy access to tools and platforms for sharing information about your community isn't the problem with local news. It's the disappearance of journalists to put that information into context, fact-check it, and dig out information that's not readily available to the average citizen. Google is half of a duopoly that is on some level contributing to the decline of local journalism, and it has tremendous resources and reach to help do something to reverse that trend."
Deadline to apply for LION ad sales help program extended
Due to a late surge in interest in the program, LION is extending the deadline to apply for its Revenue from Advertising Mentorship Program (RAMP) by one week, until Friday, Feb. 2.
Made possible by a grant from the Democracy Fund, RAMP will provide market-specific, year-long mentorship to the publishers of 10 local independent online news organizations on building and/or growing a local advertising sales program, including advice and best practices on native advertising, sponsored content and email newsletter monetization.
In addition to funding mentors to work with these publishers, the program will cover some marketing, software and travel expenses, and provide each participant with a $7,500 stipend aimed at freeing them up to put time into building a stronger sales effort.
Related: The death of local advertising has been greatly exaggerated. It can still be a significant source of funding for journalism, and that's why we're offering a sales mentorship to local news publishers this year.
A local online news site thrives as a big California daily declines
"When Lance Knobel and Tracey Taylor helped dream up a local news site for their community nine years ago, they knew coverage from a nearby major newspaper was declining, but they never imagined how far down it would go.
"These days, their creation, Berkeleyside, has strong support from its readers and advertisers as it covers council meetings and sirens around the college town of Berkeley, California. The big dog on the East Bay, the once-mighty Mercury News, has seen its staff plunge from 400 in the 1990s to 39 today. The Merc’s parent company, Digital First Media, announced this week that more layoffs would occur."
David Beard has more in this profile of a LION member in Poynter.
Facebook's two-question 'trustworthiness' survey raises eyebrows
Facebook will now ask users to rank news organizations they trust, and it will have some weight on how publishers' content does in a News Feed algorithm recently declared to be less friendly to publishers' content.
But when Facebook's trustworthiness survey was surfaced earlier this week, there were lots of questions. Because it's only two questions long. Some say that's not as simple as it sounds. The logic behind it makes sense, according to another take, but the results will still be biased.
Meanwhile, the fallout from Facebook's big algorithm change announcement continues. Reach has already been dropping. But is the “bloodletting” still to come?
Diversification is the new black as publishers see the end to Facebook dependence, and many offer "tangible strategies" to deal with the change.
Maybe this is the "best thing that ever happened to news" or won't matter that much.
There will be winners and losers, for sure. The truth might be a loser.
Related: Here's what Facebook's Local News And Events Section looks like. With Facebook emphasizing community, marketers are trying out Facebook Groups. The New York Times’ stock jumped following Facebook’s ‘trustworthy’ news announcement.
News About Local Independent Online News
BKLYNER: A local news site survives in Brooklyn, and getting readers involved at the start of the reporting process.
CHARLOTTESVILLE: LION board member and Charlottesville Tomorrow Executive Director Brian Wheeler is leaving to head communications for the city of Charlottesville.
LEADERSHIP: Local independent online news organization leaders from The Tyler Loop in Texas, the Ithaca Voice in New York, The Evergrey in Seattle and the Texas Tribune are among this year's class for the Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media.
LIBRARIES: Tale of 2 polls: What do librarians have that journalists don’t?
MAGAZINES: City Magazines Fill the Newspaper Gap.
Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue
AD FRAUD: A New Wave Of Bad Ads Is Hijacking Even Top-Tier Websites. Here’s why the epidemic of malicious ads grew so much worse last year. Vox Media eyes sandboxing to tamp down on malicious ads.
AD SPENDING: Something doesn’t add up about America’s advertising market.
AD TECH: Programmatic Efficiency Should Focus On Audience, Inventory and Working Media. Brands Pump More Money Into Smarter Ads.
AGENCIES: Advertising’s ‘Mad Men’ Bristle at the Digital Revolution.
MOBILE: The 3 Trends That Will Take Mobile Ad Creativity Into a New Era.
NATIVE ADVERTISING: Thinking Like a Journalist Will Make You Awesome at Native Advertising. Facebook news-feed changes will cut into publishers’ branded-content revenue.
NEWSLETTER: Here’s how to build a better newsletter, according to a bunch of self-professed newsletter nerds.
RETENTION: Paying attention to retention.
SEARCH: Google’s emphasis on mobile page speed will hit CNN, WSJ and other top sites. Google Search Visibility Of Social Falls, Video Rises.
SELLING: Selling to Multi-Location Brands: Who Makes the Decisions.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: What if digital subscriptions aren’t the answer? Chicagoans are more likely to donate $10 to a free news site than pay a fee of $10 to access news. Denver Post launches new paywall, as reporters ask readers to overlook actions of hedge fund owner. How The New York Times is using interactive tools to build loyalty (and ultimately subscriptions). Business Insider is a case study on how not to roll out a paywall.
VIDEO: As Facebook Changes Its Feed, Advertisers See Video Ambitions.
Tools and Tips: Journalism and Technology
BOTS: Journalism Bots: A Quick History and Ideas for Use in Your Newsroom.
COPYRIGHT: Playboy is suing Boing Boing - but linking is not copyright infringement.
DATA: The state of data in newsrooms: findings and recommendations. Volt Data Lab grew from a personal blog for coding experiments to a full-fledged data storytelling agency. A network of news outlets and data agencies wants to unlock untold data stories across Europe.
DESIGN: The strategy behind Slate's engaging new design.
ENGAGEMENT: What ‘Engagement Reporting’ Is and Why It Matters. Some thoughts on a citizen-learning model for journalism. Earning trust by inviting questions … and answering them. Creating journalism to engage as well as to inform.
ETHICS: As technology develops, so must journalists’ codes of ethics.
FOIA: An Arizona school district kept a secret blacklist for decades. A reporter found it.
GOOGLE TOOLS: Tips from Google News Lab for newsrooms to tell the local story when it matters most.
GUNS: A gun-focused news outlet on what it takes to cover firearms credibly.
MENTAL HEALTH: Advice for covering mental health: How to avoid stereotypes and building your story on unreliable sources.
SOCIAL MEDIA: The Difference Between “News on Social” and “Social News.” Social media and news: The dilemma of our time. How to reach decision makers on social. Why Social Media Editors Should be Better Integrated into Newsrooms.
STORY COMMENTS: Will Comment Sections Fade Away, Or Be Revived By New Technologies?
STORYTELLING: How The Washington Post offered readers an immersive look at Puerto Rico without power.
TRUST: Nine questions for your credibility checklist.
WRITING: A very good reason not to use ‘very.’
Industry News
ALT WEEKLIES: An elegy for alt-weeklies, as ‘smart, gutsy, colorful’ voices are silenced.
FAKE NEWS: Fake celebrity stories are still hijacking Facebook search results. Here’s How Scammers Are Using Fake News To Screw With Bitcoin Investors. Fake apps can steal your information. Here's how to detect them. UK announces rapid response unit to tackle 'fake news.' Twitter and Facebook have three days to investigate yet another Russian bot campaign. Google Executives Pledge to Scour More Content Ahead of Midterm Elections.
FRANCE: In France, female journalists fight back over equal pay and representation.
GATEHOUSE: Eugene, Oregon's Register-Guard has been sold to Gatehouse.
GOOGLE: Google suspends fact-checking feature over quality concerns. Google briefly broke Amazon’s workaround for YouTube on Fire TV. Google outlines initiatives to support better advertising standards. George Soros says Facebook and Google's 'days are numbered.'
GUARDIAN: ‘We’re at the foothills of what we can do’: How The Guardian improbably put itself on the path to profits.
GYMNASTICS CASE: Prosecutor in gymnastics sex abuse case: 'We, as a society, need investigative journalists more than ever.' Partly to blame? Michigan State's "addiction to secrecy."
HUFFPOST: So now HuffPost decides to pay writers. Its effect on the industry still lingers.
INSTAGRAM: How Bleacher Report pivoted from Facebook to Instagram.
NET NEUTRALITY: They struck net neutrality down. Now it's becoming more powerful than they could possibly imagine. Net neutrality comment fraud will be investigated by government.
OWNERSHIP: Here’s who owns everything in Big Media today.
PITTSBURGH: “Abomination:” Pittsburgh publisher’s editorial inflames staff, readers. The newsroom confronted its publisher.
PODCAST: Q&A: Slate EIC Julia Turner on ‘pivoting to words.’
POLLS: Opinion sharing tool Opinary raises €3 million to strengthen its presence in the United States.
PRESS FREEDOM: Assessing Trump’s press freedom record, one year on.
PRINT: Can newspapers make real changes under the constant threat of layoffs? Twice-weekly newspaper closes and 20 laid off; another newspaper being created.
RADIO: E.W. Scripps Co. to sell 34 radio stations, expand restructuring.
SLATE: Slate Staffers Vote to Unionize in Defiance of Stiff Management Resistance.
SNAPCHAT: Snapchat Breaks Out of App Shell: Will Let Users Share Some Stories on Web.
STUDENT MEDIA: High school students launch alternate school newspaper after administrators delete article on teacher's firing. With an extended reach online, newly energized college journalists are facing off against university administrators.
TRONC: Los Angeles Times newsroom votes to go union amid growing corporate tumult. Inside the Vote. Meanwhile, the LA Times' publisher is under investigation by the company over claims of harassment. And On East Coast, Exec At Tronc-Owned New York 'Daily News' Investigated After Harassment Complaint. And Then ... A Second Top Daily News Editor Under Investigation For Harassment. Union attacks Los Angeles Times' publisher's "pyramid" plan for establishing a contributor network to supplement newsroom. L.A. Times is offering some digital subscriptions for 2 cents a week, $1.04 a year. LA journalism’s ‘Prince of Darkness:’ A profile of new LA Times editor Lewis D'Vorkin. Tronc and Axios Are In Talks For a News Partnership.
TRUMP: Local Journalism Is Crucial In The Age Of Trump.
TWITTER: Twitter: More than 677,000 U.S. users engaged with Russian troll accounts. Why Twitter's future just got even darker. Twitter Is Working on a Snapchat-Style Video Sharing Tool. How Effective is Twitter Promote Mode? We Tested It for 30 Days.
VIRTUAL REALITY: With Left Field, NBC News is experimenting with VR, mixed reality, and other new story forms.
Upcoming Events
AD SALES CRM WEBINAR: LION will host a webinar on customer-relations management software for local advertising sales at 1 p.m. Feb. 20.
AD RATE BASICS WEBINAR: LION will host a webinar on how to determine advertising rates and packages at 1 p.m. March 20.
YOUTUBE FOR PUBLISHERS WEBINAR: LION will host a webinar on YouTube for local news publishers at 1 p.m. April 24.
READER REVENUE SUMMIT: LION and the Center for Cooperative Media will host a day-long summit on Reader Revenue April 6 at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
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. |