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News, information and much more for independent online news publishers. 
Some proof that revenue from readers can support local news

Last month, Bklyner, LION member Liena Zagare's local independent online news site in Brooklyn, announced that it would have to shut down if it couldn't start supplementing its advertising revenue base with support from readers.

An outpouring from readers followed. It signed up nearly 2,000 voluntary subscribers in a matter of weeks, and Bklyner will remain open.

"We’ll be putting all the money from subscriptions to fund reporters and editors ... and the more we have the more reporters we can pay to tell the stories that need to be told in Brooklyn," Zagare wrote.

Street Fight has a trio of related stories: As the local news industry struggles, publishers ask readers to pay. Local digital news publishers are ignoring display revenue. And why even top local news sites can’t compete with Facebook on ads.

Related: Reporters, once set against paywalls, have warmed to them.


Some crucial accountability reporting from local online news sites

Local independent online news publishers produced a steady stream of significant accountability journalism in 2017, from major investigations that had immediate impact on public policy, to deeply reported ongoing coverage of local government, business and public health issues. Here's a look at some of the most significant work produced by sites run by LION members.

Related: The growing impact of local nonprofit investigative journalism in 2017.


Solutions journalism - with tacos - at the Tyler Loop in Texas

"What’s one tool a news organization can use to help its readers explore different neighborhoods and meet new people in their community?
 
"Tacos. Yes, really.
 
"The Texas-based Tyler Loop took its readers on a taco tour through the city to help illustrate — and try to bridge — divisions in Tyler.
 
"The taco tour is the focus of Issue 1 of Solution Set, a new weekly report from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and The Solutions Journalism Network."


How Richland Source engages young millennials

"Sometimes Jay Allred feels like a concert dad in his newsroom. For the last two years, the publisher of Richland Source – a local news site based in the Rust Belt city of Mansfield, Ohio – has let his reporters throw house-party-style events in the newsroom with live music, food and beer."

“I’m like the Dumbledore of engaging young millennials,” Allred said. “How many millennials do you ever see in a newsroom? They’re like unicorns."

“Our market objective is to be accessible to an age group that really has no interest in a lot of the things that we’re doing.”

Poynter looks at how the local independent online news site in Ohio has had success in reaching younger readers.


LION member spotlight: The Worcester Sun

A Q&A with LION member Mark Henderson on how the Worcester Sun found a viable model for independent local journalism in Massachusetts.

"We've devoted our resources into areas the local daily has disinvested in. Our hallmarks are thoughtful perspective and commentary, quality editing, and a great online experience. We convened a diverse group of contributors, some with more than 40 years experience in journalism in Worcester, some new voices that bring a fresh perspective to what's going on in New England's second-largest city."


A big supporter of local independent online news turns 5

The Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University in New Jersey, which has provided significant support to local independent online news publishers and to LION, turns 5 years old this year. Here's a look back at its work.


News About Local Independent Online News

AUSTIN: To celebrate his 78th birthday, LION member Ken Martin of the Austin Bulldog bikes 78 miles.

CALIFORNIA: Noozhawk, the local independent online news site serving Santa Barbara, eliminates story comments.

KENTUCKY: Any journalist’s nightmare’: The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting's "Pope’s Long Con" story unraveled a web of lies, with tragic consequences.

MINNESOTA: 10 at 10: An oral history of the birth of MinnPost on its 10th anniversary.

NEW YORK: The Batavian is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

NONPROFITS: Taking heart from top-down efforts to bolster local journalism. The rising wave of nonprofit journalism.

VIRGINIA: A look at the success of local independent online news site Charlottesville Tomorrow. "The nonprofit business model works well for us because we have a community that believes in and supports our mission – informed citizens create better communities."


Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue

AD BLOCKING: ‘Ad blocking is a consumer signal.’

AD TECH: Programmatic faces a turning point In 2018. Purch is a publisher with a $24 million business in licensing ad tech to smaller publishers. Ad targeters are pulling data from your browser’s password manager.

DIGITAL SERVICES: A.H. Belo Corp. Creates a Pair of Marketing Services Divisions.

FUNDRAISING: Giving and fundraising: four essential reads. Increase Donations Over Time With the Right 'Gift Ladders.' A Major Donor Tells You How to Ask. Charities fear tax bill could turn philanthropy into a pursuit only for the rich.

NATIVE ADVERTISING: Four Steps to Bring Ethical Clarity to Native Advertising.

NEWSLETTERS: ‘Wake Up to Politics’ editor Gabe Fleisher ‘just gives the facts’ in his daily e-newsletter. MailChimp to Phase Out Its Popular TinyLetter Email Service.

PODCASTING: Apple Podcast Analytics is finally live (and with it, the ability to see how many people are skipping ads).


Tools and Tips: Journalism and Technology

BIAS: Can you have “offensive” public opinions about Donald Trump and still be a sportswriter? One former New York Post columnist found out the answer.

CITIZEN JOURNALISM: Citizen journalism could become collateral damage in the fight against fake news.

COLLABORATION: 'I Participated in a Nationwide Investigative Journalism Project, And You Can Too.'

CURATION: RIP content curation. https://medium.com/@teecycletim/rip-content-curation-8b2d8bcc5f01

DATA: New Edition of Data Journalism Handbook to Explore Journalistic Interventions in the Data Society. 18 data sources for investigative journalists.

ENGAGEMENT: When it comes to engagement metrics, focus on the small numbers. The year we wanted the internet to be smaller. Why tiny, weird online communities made a comeback in 2017. What the internet kills is the mass media business model, with it mass media, and with it the idea of “the mass” as the homogenized, melted pot of citizens. We're returning to a model with many voices from and for many worldviews.

FACT CHECKING: To make fact-checking go viral, 'silence is golden.'

INVESTIGATIONS: Investigative journalism is not dead. Ask Roy Moore and John Conyers.

PHOTOGRAPHY: The financial struggle for photojournalists.

PLANNING: Establish your election coverage plan now, and other resolutions for newsroom managers in 2018.

PRIVACY: The General Data Protection Regulation is coming: How should newsrooms prepare?

SOCIAL MEDIA: How long are the most shared stories on social media? How the Mighty’s community-first strategy wins on social. 10 of the most important pieces of new research into digital and social media published in 2017. Social media companies should ditch clickbait, and compete over trustworthiness. Social Media Verification and Discovery Makes for Better Reporting How Charities And Non-Profits Succeed On Social Media.

STORY COMMENTS: A news site gave would-be commenters a quiz. Here’s what happened.

TOOLS: Five innovative apps for journalists from 2017. Resolve to master new tools, improve your social media game and fix those passwords. 13 questions to ask before adopting new tools or changes in the newsroom. Truepic app lets journalists instantly verify images, videos.

TRUST: Show your work: The new terms for trust in journalism.


Industry News

ALGORITHMS: The Algorithms Aren’t Biased, We Are.

AI: Five technologies catapulting the media industry into the future.

BOSTON: McGrory says the Globe will pass 100,000 digital subs in the next six months. Radio for the people: Providing a voice for Boston’s communities of color.

BROADBAND: New coalition to bring more internet to rural America.

CHICAGO: Lens of an insider: Photographer defies media portrait of Chicago neighborhood.

FACEBOOK: 2018 could be the year Facebook banishes news from its feed. Facebook will ‘completely deprioritize publishers’: Confessions of a publisher audience development head. How to prepare for the removal of publisher posts from Facebook’s news feed. 2018 will be a pivotal year for Facebook’s video ambitions.

FAKE NEWS: Fighting Fake News: Key Innovations in 2017 from Platforms, Universities and More. ‘Fake News’: Wide Reach but Little Impact, Study Suggests. A Network Of Facebook Pages Used Fake News To Sell Kitchen Gadgets. Craig Silverman: "I Helped Popularize The Term “Fake News” And Now I Cringe Every Time I Hear It."

FOIA: Eight media companies and two organizations that advocate for First Amendment rights plan to support The Fayetteville Observer’s appeal to unseal civil case over molestation.

FOOD: He created a legendary academic journal, so can Jeff Kittay do the same for food?

GATEHOUSE: Worcester T&G photographer resigns, citing GateHouse’s ‘reckless’ cuts.

HARASSMENT: Two women say former Anniston Star publisher assaulted them. He's admitted spanking reporters, with bizarre rationale. After initially saying he wouldn't resign as the company's chairman, he's since resigned. Crossing the Line: What Counts as Online Harassment?

HATE SPEECH: Germany starts enforcing hate speech law. Social platforms required to remove hate speech. It Could Cost Facebook and Twitter a Fortune in 2018. Facebook’s Uneven Enforcement of Hate Speech Rules Allows Vile Posts to Stay Up. How Facebook’s Political Unit Enables the Dark Art of Digital Propaganda. Welcome to 2018, the Year of Censored Social Media.

NEW YORK TIMES: New publisher reaffirms New York Times' commitment to journalism. Powerful yet addicted to power: Why the New York Times is in the hot seat so often.

OWNERSHIP: Navigating the digital transition is a huge challenge for newspapers. Absentee ownership by private equity predators makes it all but impossible.

PRESS FREEDOM: Press freedoms under attack: Revisiting stories of the past year.

PRINT: Newspapers' Bad News in U.S. Gets Worse, Courtesy of Trade Spat Over Newsprint. Santa Barbara newspaper apologizes after printing gay slur in byline.

PUBLIC MEDIA: Listeners Vent Rage as WNYC Trustees Shut Out Public.

STUDENT MEDIA: High school journalism has been losing ground since the 70s due to budget cuts and Supreme Court rulings.

TRONC: Daily News editor is retiring -- and Tronc hasn't hired a replacement. Tronc to pay chairman's firm $15 million over 3 years. At the Los Angeles Times, a union battle at an anti-union bastion.

TRUMP: Trump is always going to be a big story. But in 2018, he can’t be the only story.

TV: Study: Competition between TV stations spurs investigative journalism.

TWITTER: Twitter ended the year on a fascinating run. Sheriff David Clarke temporarily blocked on Twitter after posting threats against journalists.

WASHINGTON POST: The Washington Post still plays catch-up, but is gaining on The Times.

YOUTUBE: It’s not just Logan Paul and YouTube — the moral compass of social media is broken.


Upcoming Events

LION webinar: Covering Your Local Hospital

Rose Hoban and Mark Toscak of North Carolina Health News will talk about the many stories to be found in delving into the finances, policies, practices and performance of your local hospital in a LION webinar at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22. It's free for LION members, and only $15 for non-members.

They will discuss how to find key records and experts and suggest practical story ideas.
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