To sustain journalism, news orgs tweak the for-profit model
A new model for sustainability is emerging among some local independent online news organizations: For-profit sites that tout the altruistic nature of community and watchdog journalism, and enlist the support of readers and businesses in the form of membership programs and sponsorships instead of just traditional subscriptions and advertising.
You could call it the "mission-driven for-profit."
Related: How Richland Source got the community to contribute nearly $70,000 for journalism. How The Seattle Times brought in more than $4 million to fund critical coverage.
Learn about Berkeleyside's direct public offering at LION Summit
This year's LION Summit, Oct. 11-13 in Chicago, will feature a case study on the remarkable success that the local independent online news organization Berkeleyside had in asking its readers to invest money in a direct public offering.
Publisher Lance Knobel, a longtime LION member, will talk about how they raised more than $1 million as the first local news organization to ever use the direct public offering model, and where they're going from here as an organization, including further developing their membership program.
The full schedule of presentations, workshops and discussions at this year's conference will be released soon. Register today!
Related: Direct public offerings aren’t necessarily direct-panacea-offerings for local news sites. In liberal wine country, turning newspaper readers into shareholders.
A look at Spirited Media's push into memberships
Billy Penn, Denverite, and The Incline are all going after members. Can they become predominately reader-supported?
Related: With a little help – and a little weirdness – readers understand why it’s important to help local startup newsrooms pay the bills.
News About Local Independent Online News Sites
CALIFORNIA: How Ken Layne Created a Publishing Oasis in a Desert Town of 8,000 People.
CHICAGO: Newly launched Block Club Chicago goes "old school."
COLORADO: The editor of the Colorado Independent was detained doing her job. She doesn't want it to happen to others. Read the news site's own account of the incident.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP: From journalism to business: how to change your mindset.
GRANTS: Local independent online news organizations Racine County Eye and City Limits among recipients of Community Listening and Engagement Fund grants. They'll engage community around new Foxconn plant in Wisconsin and mid-term elections.
KENTUCKY: From rural news audiences to Russian tweets, this new research into a local independent online news organization has some useful takeaways for reporters.
LENFEST: The Lenfest Institute is testing new products for local news, and it wants your help.
MONTANA: Local independent online news org Montana Free Press unveils new website design.
NEWS DESERTS: A probing look at local news comes to some disturbing conclusions. What happens when local news disappears? Will people pay for hyper-local news?
PENNY HOARDER: It started as a one-man personal finance blog. Now it generates millions in revenue.
PENNSYLVANIA: The Sanatoga Post is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a local independent online news site, and has grown to an audience of 14,000-plus readers.
PRO PUBLICA: How not to be a parachute partner: ProPublica’s figured out how to collaborate with local newsrooms without bigfooting them. Is getting out the vote journalism’s job? Auspicious timing greets a new ProPublica initiative.
REVEAL: Reveal will fuel local, collaborative investigative reporting by helping newsrooms get the awkward conversations out of the way.
TENNESSEE: BIGR Media Merges with Tech Startup Wannado to Empower Local Publishers.
TEXAS TRIBUNE: How The Texas Tribune Integrated SEO into Its Newsroom.
TRANSPORTATION: Uneasy rider: The man with the MTA newsletter.
Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue
AD TECH: As Google and Facebook dominate, ad tech industry consolidates. Under GDPR, publishers are adopting CMPs for fear of losing out on ad revenue. Local News Publishers Still Mired in Ad Fraud, New Data Shows. How tech publisher Future is getting 95 percent of its audience to consent to ad tracking. Opinion: Why California's privacy law is a mistake. Has the GDPR law actually gotten European news outlets to cut down on rampant third-party cookies and content on their sites? It seems so. 'Weaponized ad technology:' Facebook's moneymaker draws criticism.
ADVERTISING: "Advertising is obsolete" – here’s one take on why it’s time to end it.
ALTERNATIVE REVENUE: Build, buy, or barter: three alternative revenue streams for news publishers.
BILINGUAL PUBLISHING: Juggling two languages to reach all our readers.
BLOCKCHAIN: Understanding Civil’s blockchain fix for the news: An explainer. Civil aims to "reimagining the incentives that lead people to pay for journalism." The AP has another plan to track its content across the Internet, and this time it involves blockchain, naturally. Blockchain buzz among advertisers starts to fizzle. Blockchain tech has the power to fight censorship — but it can help fake news stay forever.
E-COMMERCE: BuzzFeed Launches Product-Review Site Akin to Wirecutter. Why Publishers Are Transitioning to Affiliate Marketing.
FUNDRAISING: Where can you find funding for that local journalism project? Here’s a quick guide.
Want to work with funders? Don’t approach them like a reporter. Amp Up Your Attitude to Fundraise From Individual Givers for Your Nonprofit. Facebook birthday fundraisers rake in $300 million in first year.
NATIVE ADVERTISING: Four Ways Media Companies Can Take Advantage of a New Era of Native Advertising.
NEWSLETTERS: Good news for newsletter writers: Americans check email more than ever, even at dinner. Newsletter engagement strategies to grow community and readership: How audience development professionals are rethinking newsletters as tools to drive action, conversation and content. Report: Nearly one in four nonprofit emails end up as spam.
PUBLIC FUNDING: RJI Fellow proposes news model funded and directed by the community.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Why Readers Pay For News (And Why They Don't). Don’t be afraid to tell your readers your journalism is valuable. Five ways to better lead customers toward conversion. Inside the Local News Subscriptions Accelerator: Mastering the Mid-Funnel. So your news organization has real, paying digital subscribers. Now how do you keep them?
What Trump bump? A third of New York Times subscriptions don't come from news. Kansas City Star is offering sports-only digital subscriptions. BuzzFeed News quietly tests a membership program. The Young Turks now has 27,000 paying subscribers accounting for half of its revenue. The Financial Times will next year hit 1 million subscribers, 17 years after putting up its paywall. This Boston business publication charges subscribers $695 a year and is sustainable. How Siobhan O’Connor is trying to grow Medium’s subscription business. Five Swedish media companies partner to offer subscribers more local content. The Seattle Times has attracted 36,000 digital subscribers. Two Latin American paywall success stories. How an Argentine newspaper built its membership program around commenting.
ARCHIVES: We’re getting closer to the day when news apps and interactives can be easily preserved in perpetuity.
CODING: The benefits of coding skills in the newsroom.
COLLABORATION: The Importance of Collaboration Between Newsrooms and Their Communities. Here are 5 common ways that successful journalism collaborations get started. Here’s how collaboration can connect a volunteer editor with your newsroom. The Ohio News Media Collaborate to Report on Important Statewide Issues.
DATA: A look at some tools that can help you create professional looking infographics.
DRONES: Experts offer insights into drone innovation.
ELECTIONS: In A News Vacuum, Politicians Construct Their Own Realities. This organization helps reporters cover public opinion research and polling more accurately. Election projects around the world show the power — and necessity — of collaborative journalism.
ENGAGEMENT: Where are the funds for engaged journalism? Lifting the veil: How the Fresno Bee is becoming more transparent about how it creates its journalism. Report: Consumers seek more transparency from brands on social media. Direct customer relationships are key to growth in digital age. Your news organization should know the people it is serving — its future depends on it. Skim reading is the new normal. The effect on society is profound. In Texas, a local public radio show defies the ‘Google it’ age. Seventy-plus European news organizations that will inspire your community engagement work. Explanatory video + engagement = How Vox’s Borders series is humanizing the map and building local source networks.
FACT CHECKING: How to be a better fact-checker in 8 videos. Learn how to spot and respond to disinformation on social media. What we learned about media literacy by teaching high school students fact-checking. PolitiFact at 11: After 15,000 claims, the truth still matters.
FOIA: Snubbed for a tourism grant, this Utah man launched his own journalistic investigation that caught board members enriching themselves. Death penalty reporter sues Missouri in bid to witness executions. Reporters Committee and 30 media organizations: Court should not hold Sun-Sentinel and its reporters in contempt for publishing legally obtained information.
FOOD: Winnipeg Free Press’s 24-hour food focus attracts viewers.
HEALTH: How media coverage of epidemics helps raise anxiety and reduce trust. Covering health research? Choose your studies (and words) wisely.
HOW TO: Why “How-To” content is your ticket to evergreen shares.
HURRICANES: Covering hurricanes: Key resources for journalists. One year later: A newsroom's lessons from Harvey.
METRICS: What Is ‘Quality’ Journalism? Metrics: Are yours relevant, actionable, measurable, reliable and readable? Why Google and Chartbeat real-time audience numbers are different.
MOBILE: The Skimm launches a 1:1, bot-less (for now) texting service to help subscribers make decisions. Seven lessons learned in a year teaching mobile journalism.
OPIOIDS: What the media gets wrong about opioids.
PHOTOGRAPHY: A news organization learns from loaded choice of photo in murder case.
PODCASTING: Tips for promoting your podcast. How top and emerging podcasts are using social to grow their audiences. Improve your sound, and your journalism with these handy tips for audio reporters. Storytelling techniques for audio journalists. Charlotte's NPR affiliate is launching a local-music discovery podcast, “Amplifier,” spotlighting the region’s singers, bands, songwriters and others. Three reasons news media companies should disrupt radio.
SEO: Implement these SEO techniques to boost your page views. Goodbye, Facebook traffic. Welcome back, SEO, we missed you? SEO Is Back. Thank God.
SEX ABUSE: Local angles for the ongoing clergy abuse scandal.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Seven Techniques to Write More Concisely in Social Media (and Why You Should). Stories format: Next social wave for audience engagement. The promises and pitfalls of reporting within chat apps and other semi-open platforms: A journalist’s guide.
STORYTELLING: What journalists can learn from television dramas and comedies: They thrive on complexity. But journalism’s reductive picture of society makes America more polarized and feeds the extremes.
TRAUMA: Anticipating the daily traumas of local reporting.
TRUST: Finally some good news: Trust in news is up, especially for local media.
VIDEO: Seven Tips for Newsrooms as More Readers Consume Video. Five Tips for Using Facebook Live. How the BBC is getting people to watch short-form video.
WRITING: What I learned about writing from listening to Aretha Franklin. In China, fighting clickbait by teaching people how to write.
Industry News
BOTS: Russia Gave Bots a Bad Name. Here’s Why We Need Them More Than Ever. Quartz forges ahead, but other news publishers shut down chatbots. How machine learning is revolutionizing journalism. Through understanding bots, journalists can more effectively fight disinformation.
BUFFETT: Omaha World-Herald eliminates 23 jobs, including 10 layoffs.
CRAIG'S LIST: Why Craig Of Craigslist Is Giving Millions To Journalism And Education. A look at his million-dollar gift to journalism at Mother Jones, without ties, and the reason for that.
CROSSWORDS: Local newspaper crossword at a crossroads.
DIVERSITY: Public radio’s efforts to track source diversity seen as path to addressing ‘deep problem.’ Women and minorities are paid the least in newsrooms: report. How women are underrepresented in local news coverage. The Lazy Trope of the Unethical Female Journalist.
FACEBOOK: Eleven Facebook page optimizations for small publishers. Facebook’s message to media: “We are not interested in talking to you about your traffic…That is the old world and there is no going back.” Continuing charm offensive, Facebook creates tool to boost news publishers’ reach on the platform. Facebook adds Pixel to groups so marketers can track engaged audiences. Facebook moves to cut 5,000 targeting options but ad buyers see workarounds. Facebook has a trustworthiness score for you, but it’s top secret. Facebook Takes a Stab at Local—Again. Deconstructing The Google/Facebook Duopoly. It’s Time to Rein in the Tech Platforms’ Anticompetitive Behavior.
The Impossible Job: Inside Facebook’s Struggle to Moderate Two Billion People. Facebook’s Flawed DNA Makes It Unable to Fight Misinformation. Whatever it does to fight misinformation, Facebook’s moves collide with the necessity of preserving its business model. Should social media platforms be regulated? A new survey says yes. Democracy is cracking and platforms are no help. What can we do about it? Some policy suggestions. Three-quarters of Americans surveyed say social networks should show the same set of news topics to all users, ignoring their stated interests or browsing history. (Someone should tell them about newspapers!) Inside Facebook’s plan to protect the U.S. midterm elections. Why Facebook needs a Supreme Court for content moderation. Facebook Has Been Suckered By The Right's Definition Of "Fair And Balanced." Is there really data that heavy Facebook use caused…erm, is correlated with…erm, is linked to real-life hate crimes?
Do teens use Facebook? It depends on their family’s income.
FAKE NEWS: Local journalists playing ‘critical role’ in ‘fake news’ fight, new study says.
Fighting Conspiracy Theories, Sandy Hook Parent Is Thwarted by Online Policies. When Trump Killed Media Criticism. Meet the Indiana dad who hunts Russian trolls. Reporters: Stop calling everything 'fake news.' NewsGuard considers Fox News a healthy part of your news diet. Fake News 2.0: The propaganda war gets sophisticated. Revealed: Notorious Pro-Trump Misinformation Site True Pundit Is Run By An Ex-Journalist With A Grudge Against The FBI. Detecting deepfake videos in a blink of an eye. This Browser Extension Is Like an AntiVirus for Fake Photos. Study: ‘Informed’ Republicans distrust the media in large numbers. Revcontent, Poynter Partner To Demonetize Fake News. Inside Wikipedia's volunteer-run battle against fake news.
FT: Financial Times boss returns pay rise after staff backlash.
GATEHOUSE: Publisher, editor announce departures from Austin American-Statesman following purchase by Gatehouse.
GOOGLE: Google releases political ad directory. Does your Google News change based on whether you’re conservative or liberal? Why Google Doesn't Rank Right-Wing Outlets Highly: Mainstream media organizations are better-resourced and do far more reporting than smaller, explicitly politicized outlets. There’s a reason that misleading claims of bias in search and social media enjoy such traction. Google AMP beat Facebook Instant Articles, but publishers start to question AMP’s benefits. Google Introduces 'Ad Strength,' New Metric Measures Relevance.
HARASSMENT: Sarah Jeong and the Need for Newsrooms to Stand Up against Online Harassment.
INDIANA: Hoosier Times group cuts 17 jobs in south central Indiana.
INSTAGRAM: With news-feed user growth slowing, Facebook revs its pitch for Instagram Stories. Instagram thread accounts: format innovation at work. The Cincinnati Enquirer uses Instagram Stories to publish crowd-sourced article.
LEE: After shutdown threat by Lee Enterprises, Missoula Independent union launches #KeepMissoulaIndy.
LOS ANGELES: Charter Spectrum plans to report local TV news, 24 hours a day, in Los Angeles. One LA Weekly owner sues the rest, alleging they've pillaged the company.
McCLATCHY: McClatchy announces staff reductions of 3.5%, among other cost-cutting measures.
MINNESOTA: A hometown newspaper writes its own obituary and then writes its second act.
NEW YORK TIMES: On New York Times' homepage, the simpler the better.
OWNERSHIP: Why do billionaires decide to buy newspapers (and why should we be happy when they do)?
PENNSYLVANIA: A decades-old newspaper battle rambles on in small-town Pennsylvania.
PRESS FREEDOM: Poll: Majority of GOP agrees news media is 'enemy of the people.' This is the moment all of Trump’s anti-media rhetoric has been working toward. U.S. Senate unanimously passes resolution declaring press as "not an enemy of the people." 200+ newspapers will write pro-journalism editorials. Will they also listen? Seven next steps for #FreePress. How Can Journalists Create More Unity Against Trump’s Anti-Press Tactics? Journalists: Defend your work through action, not just with editorials. Leave the war with Trump to the national papers.
PRINT: Trump’s Tariffs on Canadian Newsprint Are Overturned. The tariffs are gone, but the burden of print weighs heavier and heavier. Newspapers seek help on pension requirements. The Post-Gazette reduces print days, leaving Pittsburgh as the largest city in America without a daily newspaper. In 2008, the newspaper industry made up about six-in-ten news employees (62%); in 2017 it was less than half (45%).
RHODE ISLAND: Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers to Acquire The Westerly Sun.
SINCLAIR: Private equity firms are circling local TV owners such as Tribune, Sinclair and Nexstar as consolidation looms. Local news hurt by broadcast media conglomerate. Sinclair could lose more than just Tribune. The failed merger nets bonuses for Tribune Media execs.
STUDENT MEDIA: A crackdown on journalism at Liberty University. Biblical truth-telling at college newspapers can sometimes conflict with the way administrators want to portray the school. Why universities like ASU are producing investigative journalism, not just teaching it.
TRONC: It looks like Tronc is about to be chopped up and sold for parts. LA Times owner and biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong is in talks to join the group bidding for the newspaper company Tronc. Another round of layoffs hits the New York Daily News.
TWITTER: Twitter’s new political ad policy exempts news media. Facebook’s still doesn’t. Jack Dorsey says Twitter is experimenting with features to promote “alternative viewpoints” in people’s timelines. He said: 'We are not' discriminating against any political viewpoint. Twitter suspends Infowars host Alex Jones' ability to tweet. Twitter suspends more accounts for engaging in "coordinated manipulation." Twitter’s Misguided Quest to Become a Forum for Everything.
YOUTUBE: YouTube Is Fighting Back Against Climate Misinformation. YouTube ads are about to get a little less skippable.
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