⚠️ AI company that plagiarized local journalism shuts down

Plus: Why this publisher chose print over digital | What media gets wrong about audience data | The strategy behind SFGATE’s expansion across the West

Author

Paul Gewuerz
April 09, 2026

Your weekly briefing on business, policy, trends, and more in the local media industry

Good morning, here’s what’s in the newsletter this week:

⇒ AI company that plagiarized local journalism shuts down

⇒ AP threatens Lee over potential breach of contract

⇒ Nonprofit newsrooms still far from financial independence

⇒ A 76-year print run ends as a Las Vegas newspaper cuts off its rival

…. and this week on the Small Press, Big Ideas podcast:

🗞 Why this publisher chose print over digital

📊 What media gets wrong about audience data

🌉 The strategy behind SFGATE’s expansion across the West

⚠️ AI company that plagiarized local journalism shuts down

An AI company called Nota shut down its network of local news sites after investigations found dozens of instances where its content copied reporting, quotes, and photos from local journalists without attribution. The project had aimed to address “news deserts” with automated reporting, but the plagiarism scandal exposed major failures in oversight and raised broader concerns about using AI to produce local journalism.

⚡ AP threatens Lee over potential breach of contract

The Associated Press is warning Lee Enterprises that its attempt to exit a news licensing deal is invalid and could trigger penalties, escalating a dispute over shifting coverage strategy. The clash highlights AP’s pivot away from reliance on newspapers toward digital and broadcast clients, with local publishers now making up a shrinking share of its business.

💸 Nonprofit newsrooms still far from financial independence

A new Wyncote Foundation report finds that digital nonprofit newsrooms remain heavily dependent on philanthropy and are nowhere near self sustaining, with earned revenue covering only a quarter to a third of operating costs. The roughly 400 digital nonprofit newsrooms in the study collectively brought in $650M to $700M in 2024, just 1% of what the newspaper industry generated from ads and circulation two decades ago.

⚖️ A 76-year print run ends as a Las Vegas newspaper cuts off its rival

The Las Vegas Review-Journal stopped printing its rival the Las Vegas Sun, ending a decades long arrangement and setting up an emergency court battle over whether the Sun can survive without it. The Sun, which has not had a print edition in 76 years without the arrangement, argued in court that losing its print product could cost it staff, readers, and potentially force it to close entirely.

Meet LocalPod Studio: the podcast platform for local newsrooms

LocalPod.co is launching LocalPod Studio: the audio platform built for local media.

LocalPod Studio makes it simple for newsrooms to turn written reporting into distributed podcasts. A publisher can paste or upload a script, generate the audio, and publish an episode that goes out to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere else.

We’re opening early access to a small group of founding newsrooms who want to help shape the platform before it launches publicly.

👉 See the demo and join the waitlist: app.localpod.co

Small Press, Big Ideas

A podcast about the business of local news

🗞 Why this publisher chose print over digital

First up on the podcast this week, Karen Schneider shares how she launched and grew multiple local newspapers in Wisconsin at a time when most of the industry was retreating from print.

With a background in advertising rather than journalism, she explains how understanding revenue and community needs shaped a model built on every door delivery, free access, and strong local coverage. Check out her company Winnebago Media Group.

📊 What media gets wrong about audience data

Next on the podcast I sat down with Omeda CEO James Capo. James breaks down why most media companies are making growth harder than it needs to be. Instead of treating audience as a unified asset, many teams are stuck managing disconnected tools and fragmented data, creating what he calls the 'Frankenstack'. His core argument is simple: audience management is not just a tech problem, it is a workflow problem.

This episode dives into how modern media businesses should think about audience identity across products like newsletters, podcasts, and events, why first party data needs a clearer definition in the age of AI, and one overlooked tactic local publishers should adopt immediately.

🌉 The strategy behind SFGATE’s expansion across the West

Finally, Grant Marek joins the show to share how he helped transform SFGATE into one of the most read news sites on the West Coast. By focusing on reader interests and underserved regions, he grew the newsroom from 21 to 60 journalists while expanding coverage across California, national parks, and beyond.

The conversation explores what it takes to grow local journalism today, how emotional connection drives readership, and why good reporting still wins even as AI and platform changes reshape the industry. Grant also breaks down how SFGATE uses AI behind the scenes while keeping journalism human at its core.