Editor and Publisher Reports

“Local newspapers and their journalists are also among the front-line workers dedicated to serving their communities, ” says Dean Ridings, CEO of America’s Newspapers, an organization that just rolled out a new marketing campaign called "Newspapers Have Your Back." All newspapers are invited to download and use the free marketing materials that stress how important local newspapers are to the community. http://newspapers.org/americas-newspapers/marketing-campaign/    E&P publisher Mike Blinder goes one-on-one with Dean Ridings to learn how newspapers can best use these materials to not only increase their brand awareness, but also help build subscription and membership revenue during these critical times.

Most of us know Ken Doctor, the president of Newsonomics, who in 2010 predicted many of the industry disruptions that occurred over the last 10 years. Now he is working on “Lookout," a wide-reaching new model for local news that will launch later this year. Ken just released a new paper, based on intensive reporting, that predicts where the industry will be in 2025. As Ken looks forward to where we may be in a few short years, some may call his findings eye-opening and even sobering. E&P publisher Mike Blinder goes one-on-one with Ken Doctor as he predicts where our industry is heading with reader revenue, newsroom staffing, print frequency and more.

Alternative news publishers are feeling the impact of COVID-19 in a number of ways, especially since a large part of their advertising base comes from restaurants, clubs and performance venues. However, some are seeing major increases in membership revenue, and others are finding new revenue streams from offering new products. John Heaston is publisher and editor of The Reader, the alternative publication in Omaha. He is also president of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and serves on the board of the National Association of Hispanic Publications. In this one-on-one interview with E&P Publisher Mike Blinder, John maintains a very positive attitude about the alternative news industry’s ability to truly define itself during this crisis and come out of the pandemic even stronger.

The Association of Free Community Publications (AFCP) represents publishers of community papers from coast to coast who offer free circulation. AFCP’s executive director Loren Colburn has been in touch with hundreds of members during the Coronavirus pandemic to learn how they are coping with a number of different challenges, including the loss of revenue and key distribution points from the large number of restaurants and entertainment venues they conduct business with.   AFCP’s Loren Colburn goes one-on one with E&P’s publisher Mike Blinder discussing the new ways that free papers are dealing with COVID-19.

Borrell Associates is the nation’s leading provider of advertising trends and data for the media industry. Each month, hundreds of local businesses and advertising agencies are researched and compiled into ongoing reports. With this information at hand, Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, reveals what trends we can expect--and more importantly--what tactics and practices we can adopt to help stem the tide of revenue loss due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As the coronavirus spreads across the world, news media companies are grappling with so much more than coverage: work-from-home plans, coronavirus-related product development, advertising declines, and the impending fallout on the economy and advertising revenues. With more than 7,000 members in 80+ countries, the International News Media Association (INMA) is conducting ongoing research and outreach to its members to help advise on best practices in dealing with pandemic.   Mike Blinder, publisher of E&P, goes 1-on-1 with INMA CEO Earl Wilkinson to learn more about their findings.  

Make Sure You Are Deemed "Essential" By Your Local/ State Government. In Italy, which is currently under lockdown in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus, a debate is waging about the importance of print newspapers. Here in the US some states and cities are making sure that local newspapers have "essential" status in order to publish their products in this time of crisis. Essential to this initiative is the News Media Alliance (NMA) as they have put together all the tools needed to make sure that we stay in business to serve our communities. Mike Blinder, Publisher of E&P, speaks with Dave Chavern, CEO of the NMA on what they are doing to help us and what resources are available for you to make sure your town, city or local government gives you "essential" status to publish. Mike also asks Dave about two other important initiatives that NMA is working on in our behalf: The News Impact Project and the Safe Harbor Bill.

The Facebook Journalism Project is partnering with the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and the Local Media Association (LMA) to offer a total of $1 million in grants to support US and Canadian local news organizations covering the coronavirus. These grants will help fill immediate gaps for resource-constrained newsrooms covering the impact of the coronavirus in their communities. Mike Blinder, Publisher of E&P speaks with Jed Williams, Chief Strategy Officer of the LMA about the program Apply for the great, here: http://bit.ly/33uB9dZ

The Financial Times understands what it’s like to be a digital leader. It launched its first paywall in 2002 and over the last decade, the paper has focused on a “north star” metric based on reader engagement. In April 2019, the FT reached 1 million paying readers, one year ahead of schedule. Due to its digital success, E&Precently named the FT as one of their 10 News Publishers That Do It Right. E&P editor-in-chief Nu Yang goes 1-on-1 with FT chief data officer Tom Betts to discuss their formula, the launch of their boutique consultancy firm FT Strategies, and how publishers can find their own metric "north star."

The 2nd Google NorthAmerican Innovation Challenge is now open for submissions focusing on projects that showcase diversification, equity and inclusion in journalism. “Googler” LaToya Drake, Global Outreach Lead for the Google News Initiative, chats with E&P Publisher Mike Blinder about this year’s challenge and how any publisher—no matter what size market—can enter.    Applications are now open, and the deadline to submit is May 12, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. PT.  In addition, over the next 10 weeks, Google will hold workshops and bootcamps to get the word out and answer questions about the challenge. The first town hall will be on March 18 at 9 a.m. PT. Tune in using this link.

In 2018, Paxton Media Group acquired the Kentucky New Era and four smaller newspapers (Dawson Springs Progress, Princeton Times Leader, Providence Journal-Enterprise and Oak Grove Eagle Post). Since then, the New Era has experienced big changes like getting a new publisher, editor and a new office to call home. Publisher Brandon Cox shares what it was like to adopt these changes and what’s next for the group of newspapers.   

Peter Newton was a huge part of GateHouse Media’s expansion into the digital service sector with the launch of their Propel and ThriveHive initiatives. But Newton was a big part of driving the entire industry into selling more than just advertising solutions to their customers. It was during those six years in senior management that the company had its most growth in market acquisitions. Now that Newton has left the country’s largest newspaper company, he continues to work within our industry consulting some of our digital partners as well as leading a drive to innovation through the Local Media Association’s Accelerate Local Project.  Mike Blinder goes one-on-one with Newton as the former GateHouse COO speaks about where he thinks the industry has been and where it is going today in our challenging times. He also gives advice to independent newspapers who lack some of the resources that large company company ownership can provide.

Joey Young purchased his first newspaper at the age of 27. Seven years later, his company, Kansas Publishing Ventures, owns six award-winning community publications with more than 30 employees that is growing audience and revenue against some big company dailies. Moreover, thanks to his passion for local journalism and keen ability to hire and maintain a motivated team, KPV continues to grow and prosper.

This week, E&P editor-in-chief Nu Yang and Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Brad Simpson discuss this year’s America East News Media Summit March 30-April 1. The PNA has combined their three signature events: America East, PNA Advertising Conference and Publishers’ Convention, to build one robust conference. Simpson will go over what sessions he’s excited about and why news publishers should attend this premiere event. This year, E&P also joins the PNA in honoring the next generation of newsroom leaders with a 25 Under 35 awards ceremony. 

ProPublica has become a leader in the industry when it comes to collaboration between newsrooms.Rachel Glickhouse, who managed ProPublica's three-year Documentating Hate project, talks to Editor & Publisher about getting newsrooms to work together, convincing readers to contribute, and plans to bring back Electionland to cover the 2020 presidential election. E&P's Rob Tornoe goes 1-on-1 with Rachel Glickhouse  

Since 2005, Community Impact Newspaper (CIN) has expanded into Texas, Arizona and Tennessee. This year, they're launching in the Atlanta metro region with the help of Allison Altobelli, a longtime newspaper executive.   As the newest CIN publisher, Altobelli shares why CIN decided to expand into Atlanta, thoughts on opening a newsroom when so many others are closing, and why more newsrooms need to adopt their "Print is not dead" mentality   Read the related story on EditorAndPublisher.com: https://www.editorandpublisher.com/a-section/community-impact-newspaper-expands-into-atlanta-region/  

Ten years ago, Ken Doctor wrote "Newsonomics," a groundbreaking book that changed the way many approached news publishing in the last decade. Now, Ken is incubating a new business model for the newsrooms of the 2020s called Lookout. He does not tell us everything about it in this 45-minute interview, preferring to wait until his market test is complete, but he does reveal many of the concepts he claims can make news publishing thrive and profitable in today’s challenging world. Plus, Mike looks into the industry predictions Ken made 10 years ago in "Newsonomics" to see if those prognostications are accurate today.  

12 years ago Mike Shapiro left his lucrative position at a NYC law firm to work out of his house to publish a local online newspaper to serve his home town of New Providence, NJ. Today he is CEO of a network of over 80 local news sites with over 1 million monthly visitors. And, they are making money doing it.   Learn the history of this success story of how local journalism can grow and make money with a digital only offering. Related links: http://www.TapInto.net

Today, Clay Jones, self-syndicated editorial cartoonist, talks to E&P Reports host Bob Andelman about a biting new collection of his work, Tales From the Trumpster Fire: A Cartoon Anthology. Jones’ work is distributed to newspapers and news sites across the United States and around the world. He also draws a weekly cartoon for CNN Opinion’s weekly newsletter, Provoke/Persuade. He has been one of America’s hottest and fastest rising political cartoonists of the Trump era. He was also the finalist for the 2019 Herblock Award and rejected a “free speech” award from the government of Iran.  Check out more of Clay Jones work by reading his personal blog and watching his cartooning videos when the interview is done at www.ClayToonz.com Subscribe to daily headlines from Editor & Publisher Magazine: https://EditorAndPublisher.com And please subscribe to this podcast for a new "E&P Reports" podcast every week! It's free! For more newsmaker conversations with "E&P Reports" host Bob Andelman, please c

Today, Zack Baddorf, cofounder and executive director for Military Veterans in Journalism—a nonprofit association that advocates for veterans in the newsroom—talks to Editor & Publisher managing editor Evelyn Mateos.    Baddorf shares what the organization is all about, the resources it provides and why the news publishing industry could use the voice and perspectives of veterans. Related Link: • Military Veterans in Journalism: www.mvj.network  Subscribe to daily headlines from Editor & Publisher Magazine: https://EditorAndPublisher.com And please subscribe to this podcast for a new "E&P Reports" podcast every week! It's free! For more newsmaker conversations with "E&P Reports" host Bob Andelman, please check out his long-running podcast, “Mr. Media Interviews,” at https://MrMedia.com . Thanks for watching; thanks for listening. Let’s talk, edit and publish again next week!