Copy
News, information and much more for independent online news publishers. 
LION tackles 'Business of Independent Local Journalism' in Phoenix

LION Publishers will hold a day-long program in Phoenix June 23 on business model, revenue, journalism and technology issues facing local independent online news publishers.

It will feature presentations, panel discussions and workshops on the business model, revenue, journalism and technology challenges and opportunities associated with the grassroots resurgence of local journalism entrepreneurship that is happening as corporate legacy media declines across the country.

The program coincides with the annual Investigative Reporters & Editors annual conference, which runs June 22-25 at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa outside Phoenix, and the Institute for Nonprofit News' "INN Days," June 21-22, open to LION members and held at the same location.



Business models for news: Nonprofits, subscriptions and the Facebook factor

The promise and challenges of a nonprofit business model for local independent online journalism. Columbia Journalism Review takes a deep dive into the progress of local nonprofit news organizations, featuring quotes from LION members including Steve Beatty of The Lens in New Orleans.

How Facebook's dominance helped kill the business of local independent online news site, the Watershed Post, in the Catskills region of New York. 

Subscriptions will not save newspapers, but they just might save local news.

Not really related: Now profitable (it has about 100 reporters for more than 1,000 local news sites), Patch wants to be a platform for other local news outlets.


LION member Q&A: Gordon Joseloff of Westport Now

He covered Gandhi's assassination, Hirohito's death, Marcos' overthrow. Then built a local news site in Connecticut.

This week's LION member spotlight features a Q&A with Gordon Joseloff, publisher of Westport Now, one of the earliest and most successful examples of a local independent online news outlet.

"... we are the No.1 go-to place for online news in Westport. We are often cited publicly at town meetings as the source of news, quoted by major news outlets, and many times have a wait list for prominent ad space. Some advertisers book and pay a year in advance to retain spots," Joseloff said. "I have had people tell me they moved to Westport because of WestportNow. They said the breadth of our coverage of all sorts of activities in Westport made them choose the town over nearby others. We are often the only news outlet on the scene of fires, accidents, or town events that get zero coverage elsewhere."


Can programmatic ads boost local sites? Join us for webinar

LION Publisher is offering a webinar series - free for members, only $15 for non-members - that in the coming months will tackle programmatic advertising for small indie publishers, copyright and fair use, metrics, and content from national partners.

On May 16, San Angelo Live! Publisher Joe Hyde will talk about his success with using programmatic advertising to supplement local sales.

Hyde turned to programmatic to supplement his revenue when the price of oil tanked, severely affecting the local economy in his part of Texas.

He'll talk CPM rates, choosing among advertising networks, and how to maximize "revenue per visit" to your site.

In case you missed it: Watch a replay of our April webinar with Edward McCain of Reynolds Journalism Institute, on preservation of digital news archives.


How Gannett tried to hide nationwide local news layoffs

Gannett newspapers are hiding an important local story — their own. Columbia Journalism Review looks at the extreme lack of transparency in nationwide layoffs the company made at mostly small local newsrooms last week.

CJR has a bigger piece about Gannett's "Local is National" strategy (we don't get it, either) with an awful headline ("last great local hope" - what?), but some good insight toward the end about what the company is doing to local journalism in communities where it purchased independent family-owned newspapers and then made deep cuts.

Earlier: Death by 1,000 paper cuts, a look at Gannetts cuts LION Executive Director Matt DeRienzo.

Related: Journalism is 'going through a wildfire', but what will survive?


Publishers wary as Facebook tweaks news feed algorithm again

Facebook down-ranks News Feed links to "crappy sites smothered in ads."

With little information about what that actually means, publishers are wary of the potential impact on referral traffic.


Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue

AD BLOCKERS: The Financial Times toughens its stance against ad blockers.

AD BUYING: Paid Search And Social Ad Spend Continues Double Digit Growth. Report: Most Local Merchants Will Increase Marketing and Shift Budgets to Digital this Year.

COLLABORATIVE JOURNALISM: New funding available for collaborative journalism projects.

NATIVE ADVERTISING: To get native advertising right the normal editorial teams of publishers have to be the ones working on it. Will there be more settlements with the FTC on native ad disclosure?

NEWSLETTERS: Five ideas for popup boxes that will get readers to subscribe to your newsletter. Email is a power tool for boosting donations. INN is offering training on building effective email lists. The definitive guide to personal newsletters.

PODCASTING: So how in the world do you break into a career in podcasting, anyway?

PROGRAMMATIC: Do ad buyers have a moral obligation to save media? Yes, ad buyers have a say in whether real news survives, but the future of news is really up to journalists. The Rise of Transparent Digital Ad Buying. Candid, Comedic and Macabre YouTube Stars Feel an Advertising Pinch.

SEARCH: Google Search will now help you find nearby events.

VIEWABILITY: With its redesign, Vice doubled the time people see ads on its site. Consumers Can Stomach Ads In News Feeds, Research Shows.


Tools and Tips: Journalism and Technology

ARCHIVES: The Minneapolis Star Tribune has digitized every article since 1867.

CODING: A simple approach to learning the fundamentals of a new tool or programming language.

CROWDSOURCING: Investigative outlet Correctiv crowdsourced data collection with the help of a local newsroom.

ENGAGEMENT: Your audience is wicked smart and will ask serious questions. Here are 50 examples as proof. In North Carolina, these two women are bringing journalists closer to the public.

FOIA: How the pros track and organize their FOIA processes.

HOME PAGE: Vice News Issues takes a “homepage-isn’t-dead” approach to big topics. The Daily Beast’s redesign cuts homepage articles by a third. Financial Times increases engagement with personalization, speed.

METRICS: Financial Times focuses on quality audience metrics.

MOBILE: The strengths and weaknesses of five basic mobile app designs. Mobile Journalism Isn’t Just Producing Content. It’s Knowing How Mobile Content Affects Engagement. Is Android the future of mobile journalism?

ONA AWARDS: Entries sought for annual Online Journalism Awards.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Ethics, Dignity and Responsibility in Visual Journalism.

PRESS FREEDOM: HHS Secretary says police ‘did what they felt was appropriate’ in arresting a journalist for shouting a question. Trump's persecution of the press could start to affect state and local reporters. Democrats are 47 points more likely than Republicans to support news media’s watchdog role. The government wants Julian Assange in jail. That could hurt the rest of us. Legislation to shield student journalists heads to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk. What It Will Take to Protect Journalism Sources in the Digital Age.

PRO PUBLICA: These six numbers show ProPublica's growth since Election Day. How ProPublica is learning to do journalism differently in the age of Trump.

SAFETY: The importance of undertaking risk assessments: 'No story is worth dying for.'

SOCIAL MEDIA: Viral publishers share how to succeed on social. This free tool will help make your stories more visual (and shareable).

TRANSCRIBING: This tool, made by college students, will save you all that time you spend transcribing.

VIDEO: WGBH Makes Video Captioning Accessible and Affordable with Free Software Innovation.


Industry News

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: The Christian Science Monitor’s new paid, daily product is aiming for 10,000 subscribers in a year.

CLOUDFARE: How One Major Internet Company Helps Serve Up Hate on the Web.

DENVER: The Denver Post is moving the majority of its newsroom outside of Denver.

FACEBOOK: Facebook debuts a Twitter-like ‘Latest Conversations’ feature that shows public posts about buzzing topics. USA TODAY asks FBI to probe rise in fake Facebook followers. How much is a Facebook partnership worth? Why won’t Facebook let us truly filter our feeds?

FAKE NEWS: Community journalism in the era of fake news. Google and Facebook aren't fighting fake news with the right weapons. What causes fake news, and what are its solutions? Journalists from NPR, CNN and the founder of PolitiFact weigh in. Republicans seem more susceptible to fake news than Democrats (but liberals, don’t feel too comfy yet). Five Ways Scammers Exploit Facebook To Feed You False Information. The French election is over. What’s next for the Google- and Facebook-backed fact-checking effort there? The Unintended Risks of “Fake-News Shaming.” Confronting a Nightmare for Democracy: Personal Data, Personalized Media and Weaponized Propaganda.

INSTAGRAM: You can now upload Instagram photos from its mobile website.

LINKEDIN: Business publishers are enjoying traffic spikes from LinkedIn.

NEW YORK TIMES: The New York Times’ digital business more than doubled in the past six years. How the New York Times saved itself. Why The New York Times isn’t diving headfirst into international editions.

NEW ZEALAND: Merger between New Zealand's two biggest media companies rejected.

PARTISANSHIP: How hyper-political publishers are still stealing the show on social media. The Money Is Rolling In For Liberal Hyperpartisan Sites And It’s Tearing Some Of Them Apart. From Blogger to Media Powerhouse: How the founder of Daily Kos channeled frustrations about politics into thriving digital brands. To understand Trump’s America better, Reuters has hired a Rust Belt correspondent.

PRINT: Survey of reporters at small print dailies shows some optimism.

PUBLIC MEDIA: With budget cuts at bay (for now) public media are searching for new funding sources.

TRONC: First quarter revenue falls 8.1% at the publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.

TV: Is local TV news headed for a print newspaper-style crash? Sinclair Near a Deal for Tribune Media. Will Sinclair become too big, too powerful?
The takeover could lead to deep cuts to local TV news budgets.

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Wall Street Journal subscribers: 79% male, 88% above age of 50, 70% earning over $100,000 a year.

YOUTUBE: How YouTube Red Laid the Groundwork for Google’s Huge Ad-Supported Videos Initiative.


UPCOMING EVENTS

INN DAYS: The Institute for Nonprofit News will hold its annual conference in association with IRE in Phoenix, June 21-22. LION members are welcome.

IRE: Investigative Reporters & Editors conference in Phoenix, June 22-25.

LION SUMMIT - PHOENIX: LION Publishers will hold a day-long program at the IRE conference hotel in Phoenix on June 23.

LION SUMMIT - CHICAGO: 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.)

 
Follow on Twitter   Friend on Facebook   Forward to Friend 
Copyright © 2017 LION Publishers, All rights reserved.


Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
unsubscribe from this list   update subscription preferences