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Death by 1,000 paper cuts: Layoff season now year-round
Gannett laid off local reporters, editors and photographers across the country on Wednesday, affecting as many as 37 local newspapers, and hitting small-town journalism the hardest.
While the New York Times, Washington Post and independent news organizations are seeing an influx of reader support in the wake of the 2016 election, Gannett and other big corporate newspaper chains are moving in the opposite direction. Their ownership provides a clue as to why.
"Gannett won’t be coming back into these towns to restore local journalism jobs. But we have all of these talented reporters, editors and photographers who care deeply about their communities. Support them in efforts at grassroots journalism entrepreneurship. They hold the best hope for replacing these continual cuts to local journalism."
Related: Stories of local cuts and top editors resigning trickle in from around the country.
How an early nonprofit news site became essential in Wisconsin
"Before the furloughs and the layoffs, before the buyouts and the nationwide shift to digital news, before the shrinking of local American newsrooms, Andy and Dee J. Hall both had an idea."
They founded the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism in 2009 and developed what would become a familiar model for nonprofit news sites.
"I think in the beginning, most of us who launched nonprofit investigative journalism centers, myself included, came in with significant investigative skills and a lot of idealism but little knowledge about how to run a business."
It started with a $100,000 grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. This year's operating budget is nearly $500,000.
More in this feature from Poynter.
LION member spotlight: Wausau Pilot & Review
A Q&A with LION member Shereen Siewert, who launched the Wausau Pilot & Review in March with the goal of "intensely focusing on Wausau, Wisconsin," whose daily newspaper has been hit with newsroom cuts in recent years.
"The veteran journalists who remain at our daily newspaper are still doing a terrific job at the work they do. They matter to this community in ways that are difficult to overstate. But there is no question that, with fewer journalists on staff, there are gaps in local coverage. And I believe that people care about what happens in their own neighborhoods and in their communities far more than they will ever care about what happens in cities around the state."
LION podcast: Drones, video and Facebook engagement in Texas
In the latest installment of LION's podcast, Field Walsh, publisher of TXK Today, talks about using drones for breaking news coverage, racking up tons of engagement on Facebook, and growing banner ad sales at a time when sponsored content is trendier.
News About Local Independent Online News Sites
COLLABORATION: An open call for collaborative reporting projects that will be funded by a new program at the Center for Cooperative Media. How to make local/national journalism collaborations work. A look at Electionland -- the largest-ever collaborative journalism project around a single event. How reporters at the Washington Post, New York Times, ProPublica, and more self-organized to free trapped FEC data.
LOS ANGELES: In LA’s Boyle Heights, Latino Teens Draw National Praise for Community Journalism.
PARENTING SITES: Macaroni Kid Pushes Stroller Into Big and Site-Packed Local Parent Space.
SEATTLE: Monica Guzman on running a new local independent online news business, unlearning AP Style and why you have to read the comments.
Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue
AD FORMATS: Thought Catalog’s sticky ads increased viewability by 25 percent.
AD FRAUD: Confessions of a fed-up ad fraud researcher: ‘Prevention is always behind.’
MOBILE: New research shows mobile drives digital ad spend growth.
NATIVE ADVERTISING: Why publishers need to approach native advertising with caution.
NEWSLETTERS: A look at the best pop-ups for newsletters.
OUTBRAIN: Content recommendation companies Taboola and Outbrain are in advanced merger talks. Outside Magazine built its own recommendation widgets to replace Outbrain.
PROGRAMMATIC: NewFronts publishers see an opening with recent YouTube, Facebook ad crises.
SEARCH: Most Internet Users Prefer Search Engines to Find Local Products.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Consumers Can Stomach Ads In News Feeds, Research Shows.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Here’s how this Norwegian publisher built a successful digital subscription model for local news. Subject expertise, social cues, and promotions are the three big reasons people pay for news. Newspaper makes the case that promoting paywalled articles on social media can drive subscriptions.
Tools and Tips: Journalism and Technology
CAPTIONING: WGBH Makes Video Captioning Accessible and Affordable with Free Software Innovation.
CLICKBAIT: Dinosaur click-bait: is getting your attention more important than getting it right?
FOIA: Ten stories waiting to be uncovered near you. EPA website removes climate science site from public view after two decades.
INSTAGRAM: Understanding the Instagram Algorithm.
INSTANT ARTICLES: Instant Articles Continue to Outperform Regular Links on Facebook.
MAP: Three Questions Journalists Should Ask Before Making a Map.
VIDEO: Blowing up some myths about online news video. Facebook is offering publishers money to create produced video. ‘The audience there is huge’: A guide to the most popular publisher Facebook video hacks.
VIRTUAL REALITY: Why news organizations need to work together to deliver the potential of virtual reality.
Industry News
ANDROID NEWS: Upday is a kind of Apple News for Android.
BOSTON: Boston Herald Guild Members Boycott Twitter After Reporter Suspended.
CANADA: Torstar Corp reports $24.4 million loss on declining newspaper and digital revenues.
COMCAST: Comcast Rolling Out a New Local Ad Service.
FACEBOOK: Facebook Tests Giving Users A More Balanced News Diet. Five Facebook Advertising Mistakes Far Too Many Brands Make. Facebook Execs Hint at Long-Form Video Licensing Deals as Company Nears 2 Billion Monthly Users. Media Execs Wary of Facebook’s Video Ad Plans. Zuckerberg thinks Facebook was ‘late’ to competing with Snapchat, is now ‘ahead.’ Here’s Why Facebook Investors Are Nervous, Despite Blockbuster Results. Publishers suffer in spar between social giants.
FAKE NEWS: It turns out people are very bad at estimating the magnitude of the fake news problem. Here’s a list of initiatives that hope to fix trust in journalism and tackle “fake news.” Can a master blacklist choke off fake news’ money supply? New report on fake news suggests fighting it with more conservatives, greater collaboration, better access to data. Fueling a Flight to Quality: But first, how do we define quality — and crap?
GOOGLE: Once again, Alphabet made a lot of money on Google advertising and this time Wall Street is thrilled.
McCLATCHY: McClatchy reports first quarter loss, sees digital-only advertising gains.
NEW YORK TIMES: The New York Times just had a pretty stellar first quarter, thanks to The Wirecutter and 2.2M new digital subs.
PHILADELPHIA: Philly’s Lenfest Institute has raised $26.5 million and could get another $40 million from its namesake.
PODCASTING: How the New York Times and Washington Post are Changing the Podcast Field.
PRESS FREEDOM: Trump administration still considering how to make it easier to sue the media.
Trump Keeps Threatening To Weaken Libel Protections. We Should Take Him Seriously. With press freedom under attack worldwide, US (the Trump administration) is setting wrong example. New report from Index on Censorship paints a bleak picture for U.S. press freedom. What It Will Take to Protect Journalism Sources in the Digital Age. Legal thinking around First Amendment must evolve.
The defamation racket: Why some important Australian stories never get told. Former Motherboard editor Ben Makuch has been pursued by the Canadian government since 2014 for doing his job. Here’s What’s Disturbing About the FBI Director’s Comments on WikiLeaks.
SWITZERLAND: Startup that promises ‘no-bullshit journalism’ nets serious cash.
TRONC: Newspaper publisher tronc says ad revenue off 15.6% in Q1, cuts losses through expense cuts.
TRUMP: Blame U.S. political divide on digital information explosion. How journalists should handle the next 100 days of Trump’s presidency. Why does this Trump article look like a comic book?
TV: Desktop and Mobile Ad Revenue Surpasses TV for the First Time. Cord Cutting Losses Set Another Record.
TWITTER: Twitter Teams Up With Bloomberg for Streaming News.
UPCOMING EVENTS
IRE: Investigative Reporters & Editors conference in Phoenix, June 22-25.
LION SUMMIT: Save the dates! LION Publishers' annual conference will be held Oct. 26-28 in Chicago.
LION WEBINARS: LION Publishers hosts a monthly webinar series. Upcoming webinars:
* May 16: Programmatic advertising for local independent online news publishers, with San Angelo Live! Publisher Joe Hyde.
* June 22: Copyright and fair use for journalists, with American University Professor Patricia Aufderheide.
* July 18: Making sense of metrics for local independent online news publishers, with Metrics Shift Editor Jason Alcorn.
* Aug. 17: Free content for local publishers from national partners, with Tucson Sentinel Publisher Dylan Smith.
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 http://www.lionpublishers.com/members/dues/renew 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.) |
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