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News, information and much more for independent online news publishers. 
Study: Tax money wasted after local journalism disappears
 
New research shows that the decline of local journalism leads directly to higher costs for taxpayers.
 
"Local newspapers hold their governments accountable. We examine the effect of local newspaper closures on public finance for local governments," write the authors of a study from professors at the University of Notre Dame and University of Illinois at Chicago. "Following a newspaper closure, we find municipal borrowing costs increase by 5 to 11 basis points in the long run. Identification tests illustrate that these results are not being driven by deteriorating local economic conditions. The loss of monitoring that results from newspaper closures is associated with increased government inefficiencies, including higher likelihoods of costly advance refundings and negotiated issues, and higher government wages, employees, and tax revenues."
 
 
LION will talk reader revenue, seed funding, ad sales in Orlando

LION Publishers will hold a day-long summit at the Investigative Reporters & Editors conference in Orlando Friday, June 15, covering issues, opportunities, ideas and advice for local independent online news organizations and entrepreneurs who are considering starting their own local news site.

The program will include early lessons from LION's Revenue from Advertising Mentorship (RAMP) program; small local publishers' advantages in advertising sales over the big tech platforms; using the impact of accountability reporting to raise money from readers; a discussion of seed funding for local independent online news organizations and "information inequality;" and an update from Facebook on the visibility and engagement around local news on the platform.

A limited number of travel stipends are available for LION members who want to attend.
 
 
Referral program grows local news sites' newsletter subscriptions
 
"Earlier this year, WhereByUs launched an email referral program at three of its brands — The New Tropic in Miami, The Evergrey in Seattle, and Bridgeliner in Portland. The goal is to try and grow its email newsletter lists and reward its most loyal readers."
 
"There are three rewards levels, and the more people you sign up, the more swag you get," Joseph Lichterman explains in the most recent issue of "Solutions Set," a newsletter that explores what's working in local news businesses.
 
 
Why readers donate to independent journalism organizations
 
The Membership Puzzle Project "interviewed more than 200 people who support independent news with their time, ideas, expertise, and money."
 
"Most commonly their contributions are financial, which is highly valuable as advertising revenue declines and the costs of reporting news rise. Some people pay in other ways. We talked to supporters who serve as comment moderators, event participants and volunteers, fact checkers, volunteer graphic designers and audio editors, sources, grammarians, contributors of code, product testers, and more."
 
One of the most basic keys to success: "offer(ing) multiple ways for people outside the organization to take part and contribute what they know."
 
RELATED: Rusty Coats on the future of the local news business: "Local media does not need to be saved. ... We do not need salvation. We need to sustain ourselves."

 
News About Local Independent Online News Sites
 
CALIFORNIA: Long Beach Press-Telegram Down to One Reporter; Departing Staff Plan New Pub.
 
COMEDY: Local independent online news site By the Bay is holding a comedy night as part of its coverage of the 2018 elections.
 
MICHIGAN: "I launched a local paper to hold power to account, even when those in power lean as far left as I do." LION member Alice Dreger on the work of local independent online news site East Lansing Info.
 
NATIVE NEWS: Indian Country Today returns. Can it protect its editorial independence?
 
TWITTER: Twitter looks to woo smaller, Facebook-frustrated publishers with new site.
 
 
Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue

AD TECH: Big tech takes a bite out of local media advertising.
 
CROWDFUNDING: After crowdfunding success, Swiss magazine Republik charts a course to “reclaim journalism as a profession.”
 
GDPR: Welcome to GDPR: Here are the data privacy notices publishers are showing their Europe-based readers. GDPR's losers? Media companies that don't have a direct relationship with their readers. U.S. News Outlets Block European Readers Over New Privacy Rules. GDPR mayhem: Programmatic ad buying plummets in Europe. Most GDPR emails unnecessary and some illegal, say experts. The Coming Splinternet: How the GDPR Could Threaten Journalism. Some companies shrug off GDPR.
 
 
MOBILE: New mobile journalism guide has free resources for reporters, newsrooms. Ten key mobile trends and opportunities to shape media's future. More Than Half Of Local Businesses Still Lack Mobile Strategy. How to Improve Your App’s Visibility, Organically.
 
NEWSLETTERS: Email—yes, email—is the next great media platform.
 
PLATFORMS: Facebook and Google dominate online ads. Can alliances between news publishers compete?
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Here’s how the subscriber funnel, or whatever you want to call it, works. "Dear Publishers, if you want my subscription dollars, here is what I expect…" How The New York Times plans new subscription products. The pivot to paid poses organizational-chart challenges for publishers. How Media Paywalls Work in Authoritarian Countries.
 
 
Tools and Tips: Journalism and Technology

AUDIENCE: Six audience segments defined by preferences (hint: trust is key).
CMS: How The Washington Post is building its tech platform, Arc.
 
 
DATA: Diary of a Local Data Reporter: Telling the story of health care workers dying from opioid overdoses in Spokane, Washington.
 
ENGAGEMENT: Earning trust by inviting questions … and answering them. Why is your newsroom so hard to contact? If News Organizations Embrace Engagement, Will Money Follow? What Can Engaged Journalism Offer Rural Communities? How not to respond to reviews: 10 common pitfalls.
 
 
INVESTIGATIONS: Investigative reporters are getting creative with how they show the paper trail.
 
LANGUAGE: The Rape Monologue: Why Journalists Need to Stop Using “Accuser” Language.
 
 
RESEARCH: Media change deniers: Why debates around news need a better evidence base — and how we can get one.
 
 
 
TAXES: Need help writing about property taxes? This tip sheet walks you through the writing of a basic story.
 
TRUST: Elon Musk wants to fix media mistrust with a dopey rating system. There’s a better way
The News Integrity Initiative and Craig Newmark Philanthropies are joining forces to support Data & Society’s Media Manipulation Initiative.
VIDEO: Six things to know about Facebook videos in 2018. Who’s creating the top Facebook videos? “Not people you’ve necessarily heard of.”
 
 
Industry News

AI: “Journalism practice may feel like a product on a conveyor belt”: Researchers on the future of automated news production and consumption. What is the role of journalists in holding artificial intelligence accountable? Are bots entitled to free speech?
 
BELO: Local News Pioneer Mike Orren, Now Working for Belo, on Industry’s Future: A Steep but Climbable Hill.
 
 
CANADA: Death by natural causes or premeditated murder? Canadian chains eliminate competition by buying, trading, and closing newspapers.
 
DFM: The Hard Truth at Newspapers Across America: Hedge Funds Are in Charge. Highlights from those panels on how to save The Denver Post. Now what? The rise and fall of The Cannabist: Why prohibition outlasted these weed journalism pioneers. Digital First lays off Boston Herald managers, workers. High hopes dashed at a former DFM paper — why The Salt Lake Tribune fell so far so fast. What’s the future of Utah’s newspapers?
 
DIVERSITY: ‘This deepening division is not inevitable’: The failing diversity efforts of newsrooms. Many major newsrooms, champions of transparency in other cases, remain tight-lipped about their newsroom diversity.
 
EXTREMISM: The Oxygen of Amplification: Better Practices for Reporting on Extremists, Antagonists, and Manipulators Online. Did the rise of young, white “Internet reporting” bolster the alt-right?
 
FACEBOOK: Publishers stop Facebook ad spending over policy that treats publishers as political advertisers. A journalism nonprofit on why it works with Facebook and Google. In the post-Facebook era, publishers see increase in direct traffic. Emily Bell on platforms: Regulation is inevitable. Facebook opens up about false news. Leaked Documents Show Facebook’s Post-Charlottesville Reckoning with American Nazis. Partisan trolls are attacking Facebook's newest fact-checking partners. Facebook accused of conducting mass surveillance through its apps.
 
FAKE NEWS: If Social Media Sites Acted Like Publishers, Fake News Would Vanish. A guide to anti-misinformation actions around the world. Politicians in Europe are still arguing about what fake news is and what to do about it. From Bible study to Google: How some Christian conservatives fact-check the news and end up confirming their existing beliefs. Is your fake news about immigrants or politicians? It all depends on where you live.
 
 
HARASSMENT: Journalists covering the alt-right are experiencing the debilitating effects of online harassment and violent imagery.
 
JOURNALISM JOBS: So you wanna be a journalist? The jobs picture is worse—and better—than you realize.
 
MASSACHUSETTS: The porn-studio-on-Martha’s-Vineyard story that never was.
 
MINNESOTA: Twin Cities provides a tale of newspaper woe and redemption.
 
PRESS FREEDOM: It's a ‘new day’ for a journalist who was detained by ICE. Blocking, shoving the latest in rough treatment of journalists. It’s the law, stupid, and other lessons from the EPA press blackout debacle. The public square is increasingly owned by private interests. That's not good for free speech.
 
PUBLIC MEDIA: A guide to state funding of public media.
 
 
Upcoming Events

INN DAYS: The Institute for Nonprofit News will hold its annual INN Days summit June 13-14 at the Investigative Reporters & Editors' annual conference in Orlando.

LION AT IRE: LION will hold a day-long session on revenue, journalism, engagement and audience development issues relating to local independent online news sites June 15 during Investigative Reporters & Editors' annual conference in Orlando.

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.
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