Greetings to all of our new Alliance members this week! I'm Jim, the host of the show. Pleased to meet you.
For those who are new here, this is the part of the newsletter where I usually have some great insight into a local journalism trend and discuss it with an expert.
But ... the interview I set up for a cool feature this week fell through. Oh, and I've been preparing to head back to WVU today to teach an in-person class for the first time since March. So ... yeah. |
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Well, when life gives us lemons, we make limoncello. Am I right? Right!
So let's get on with the show...
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I'm starting off with some very nice NewStart updates, including a big one from fellow Crystal Good.
Good's goal in the NewStart program is to create a Black-focused publication in West Virginia. This is important on many levels, but here's a big one: according to Good there are currently zero Black-focused publications in West Virginia, and there hasn't been one since 2009.
Good wants to change this. She recently unveiled the name of her new publication: "Black By God The West Virginian." If you go to her website, blackbygod.org, you can sign up to receive updates on her progress and more. Crystal is extremely talented, and we can't wait to see what she creates. You should give her a follow on Twitter, as well.
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Meanwhile, last week we kicked off our NewStart virtual speaker series for the fall semester with an excellent session on the business of ownership. Our students had a chance to hear from three outstanding guests:
- Erin McIntyre, co-publisher of the Ouray County Plaindealer, a weekly newspaper in the mountains of western Colorado
- Rick Edmonds, who is Poynter’s media business analyst and co-author of 10 State of the News Media reports for the Pew Research Center
- Christopher Wink, publisher and CEO of Technically Media, which publishes local tech news network Technical.ly and nonprofit news site Generocity.org
All three provided some key insights into acquiring publications, starting publications and running publications, as well as all types of business models to watch going forward. Our students asked some excellent questions, as well.
Here's a small sampling of the conversation:
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Christopher Wink of Technically Media discusses community feedback.
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Thanks to all three for taking the time to chat with our class! (And thanks to Don Smith's cat for joining the session, as well. That cat should get an honorary journalism degree after attending so many Zoom sessions the last couple of months.)
If owning and running your own publication sounds interesting to you, perhaps you should consider becoming a media entrepreneur via our NewStart program and taking over a rural publication somewhere in the country. Email me at jim.iovino@mail.wvu.edu and we can set up a phone call or Zoom meeting and chat.
If you're an owner or publisher who is grooming someone in your newsroom to eventually take over, why not enroll them in our one-year, online master's degree in Media Solutions and Innovation from West Virginia University? It would make a worthwhile investment in your publication's future.
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Back to business models. There were a few articles I wanted to point out this week on that very topic.
The first comes from Columbia Journalism Review's Lauren Harris, who wrote:
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The exacerbation of the local news crisis, propelled by the pandemic, demands new financial models, but it also underlines the need for better media structures—in which readers are no longer audiences, but partners in the work. As I wrote in a July newsletter, “journalists need to ask where the current model is failing, and how it can be rebuilt.” Reimagining journalism’s relationship to its community could serve as both an important end and a means to survival.
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Then there is the New York Times feature on Brick House, which is a news cooperative that will offer a subscription to nine smaller publications for $75 per year. And the money quote from the article:
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“This is a moment in journalism to experiment,” said Kyle Pope, the editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review, who is also a member of Brick House’s advisory council. “The status quo is buckling. And while that’s daunting, it also opens up enormous opportunities for people to try new and creative approaches.”
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That leads us to the Detroit Jewish News, which recently appointed a 30-year-old editor-in-chief to try to transform the publication from print to digital, and to gain a younger audience. I point to this quote from the new EIC Andrew Lapin:
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A lot of the Jewish publications are not really thinking about digital: Their core audience has just been getting the print edition forever. The economic forces that have affected print media generally have just completely walloped the Jewish media because it is so print-focused. They’ve been in this perpetual state of shrinking and not being able to respond to the changing times. But that’s a recipe for disaster, just kind of aging out of your readership. To survive, you have to diversify—not only your business model, but also your staff, your reporting methods, the ways you approach big stories.
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Local news is still relevant, example No. 227:
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Quick Hits
Now on to the latest news and notes from around the world of local journalism:
Learn:
“'Every time I got to a place where I felt like I had to quit, get a job with benefits,' he says, someone would approach him in a restaurant or on the street and inquire if he was Glenn Burkins, then thank him for the news report."
When the 164-year-old Chatfield paper closed, one loyal employee brought it back to life.
"Just released research from AudienceProject suggests the use of adblock is on the decline. While in recent years desktop ad blocker usage has soared, it appears we are now past the peak. In most countries, fewer users are using ad blockers today than in 2016. In the US for example, 41% of respondents today are using ad blockers, down from 52% in 2016. In the UK, this number is down to 15% today, from 26% in 2016."
“These subscriptions are never going to make up for all the lost ticket sales but if we’re able to generate $30,000 to $60,000 from those sales eventually, then that allows us to reinvest money back into content,” said Jared Orton, president of the Savannah Bananas. “That’s so important for a small business like ours because we can reinvest that money in equipment and talent to create better content more often.”
"Newsletters are having a moment, as creators experiment with more creative approaches to monetize and engage their audiences. Curious to learn more? Let’s dive right in."
This An' 'At:
"...our baseline assumption is that commercial newspapers will disappear or become ghost newspapers, with no meaningful civic reporting. They won’t, not everywhere. And we certainly will cheer those who persevere. But in many places, in fact in most places, we believe they will not. With traditional newspapers gone, replacement-level original reporting and accountability journalism, rooted in a deep understanding of a community’s information needs, is the new north star."
"Could TV newsrooms lead the way to a new model for local journalism?"
"These are among the pressing challenges and incredible opportunities that Free Press and the Colorado Media Project face as we partner to launch News Voices: Colorado — a new initiative that will work alongside communities underserved by local media to help strengthen and reimagine local news."
"Los Alamos, a historic community of 12,000 in New Mexico, will lose its only paid print newspaper and its major community radio station on Sunday. The coincidental announcements draw attention to not only the economic pain the pandemic has caused local businesses, but the increasing importance of public-notice ads to newspapers."
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Thanks!
That's all for this week. As always, thanks for reading.
A reminder: Share your success stories! Share your innovations! You can reply to this email, or hit up NewStart on Twitter @wvunewstart, and you can @ me @jimiovino.
Be like the fine folks at the Knight Foundation and the Benedum Foundation! If you, your organization, or anyone else you know would like to fund a NewStart fellowship position or would want to offer a scholarship in Year 2, feel free to reach out to me. I'd be happy to talk! Seriously, I would love to offer more fellowships and scholarships, and you can help.
And don't forget, you can find NewStart online at newstart.media.
If someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you want to subscribe, just hit the Subscribe Me button below:
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Thanks again, stay safe, and we'll talk next week.
Jim.
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