Hello! Here’s what’s in this week’s issue:

» A look inside an AI generated local newsletter network

» Washington State proposes new legislation to fund local journalism

» LION Publishers expanding staff 

» Allen Media Group reverses meteorologist layoffs

🤖 A look inside an AI generated local newsletter network

This piece from Nieman Lab looks into a network of local newsletters that covers 355 towns and cities in the US and are generated by LLMs. The network is run by one person, offers “testimonials” from the same avatars in dozens of locations, and has questionable public statistics on landing pages.

🌲 Washington State proposes new legislation to fund local journalism

Lawmakers in Washington have proposed a new bill, SB 5400, that would help fund over 100 newspapers, broadcasters, and digital outlets in the state. The bipartisan bill would raise a tax on - you guessed it - “large software companies” and would provide grants of up to $15,000 per journalist. Read more here.

👍 LION Publishers expanding staff

Nonprofit LION Publishers announced a string of new hires to help the organization accomplish its mission of strengthening the local news industry by helping independent news publishers build more sustainable businesses. LION recently announced a new community manager, associate director of product, and associate director of policy & advocacy. Learn more about the history of LION in my interview with executive director Chris Krewson.

🌩 Allen Media Group reverses meteorologist layoffs

After Allen Media Group announced the planned layoffs of dozens of local meteorologists in favor of serving communities from a central hub in Atlanta, viewer backlash has apparently spurred the broadcaster to reverse that decision - for the time being. Tearful goodbyes from long time meteorologists were among the reasons for the viewer backlash. It turns out that audiences prefer having an expert located in their community to report on the weather, especially when it comes to extreme weather and natural disasters.

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Small Press, Big Ideas

A podcast about the business of local news

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | RSS

Navigating HR for Local Publishers

This week on Small Press, Big Ideas I was joined by Sean Cullen Carroll, co-founder and CRO of HR Kickstart. HR Kickstart works with local publishers by providing quick, innovative and practical HR support.

Sean is not the guy you think of when you conjure images of the human resources department. Far from being the overly bureaucratic, rule focused conflict mediator that many of us have worked with in the past, Sean is energetic, entrepreneurial, and has a background on the stage that comes through during the interview 🎭

Sean began his professional journey as an educator before running a number of his own ventures spanning real estate, marketing, training, and consulting for two decades. When Sean’s wife, a HR professional, began taking calls from journalists who were starting their own projects, Sean came on board to co-found HR Kickstart.

HR Kickstart stands apart from traditional HR firms as they bring a relational approach to working with clients. They try to learn their clients’ pain points, and they understand the challenges faced by publishers. Their recent partnership with Hyperlocal News Network has now made their flexible, fractional HR services available to local publishers taking advantage of other services there. (For more on Hyperlocal News Network, check out my interview with founder Mike Shapiro)

Sean and I discussed the services offered by HR Kickstart such as creating social media policies, managing freelancer relationships, compliance guidance, team structure planning, employee handbook creation, and even navigating acquisition processes.

Sean manages to breathe life into topics that I may otherwise nod off to, and I think his insights are really pretty valuable for local media companies out there who may have been kicking the can down the road on HR.

🎧 Have a listen to the full interview wherever podcasts are found (links above ↑↑↑), and you can read my full summary of our conversation on my website: Navigating HR for Local Publishers.

Local Stories

⏩ Why a centuries-old local newspaper in New Hampshire launched a journalism fund

⏩ Arizona Nonprofit Plans to Relaunch Santa Barbara News-Press

⏩ The evolution of newspapers

⏩ A new local news empire, built on newsletters, is growing in the United Kingdom

⏩ Carpenter Media Group Acquires Missouri Titles

⏩ Expanding watchdog journalism: Oregon newsrooms unite for investigative reporting