Hello and Happy New Year!! 🍾🎉

Here’s what’s in this week’s issue:

» Billionaire Hoffman takes a stake in Lee Enterprises

» Media layoffs up in 2025

» Detroit dailies part ways

» 10 steps to follow for local broadcasters

💼 Billionaire Hoffman takes a stake in Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises, the US’s third largest newspaper chain, secured a $50 million investment from billionaire David Hoffmann that will stabilize its finances, reduce debt costs, and set up the company for future growth. Hoffmann, who will become Lee’s chairman as CEO Kevin Mowbray retires, has publicly framed this and other investments as efforts to support and expand local journalism.

📉 Media layoffs up in 2025

Layoffs in the entertainment and media industry jumped 18% in 2025, with more than 17,000 jobs cut across TV, film, broadcast, news, and streaming as companies slash costs amid consolidation and automation pressures. News divisions alone accounted for over 2,200 of those cuts, highlighting ongoing strain on traditional media in a shifting market.

🗞️ Detroit dailies part ways

Detroit’s 36 year joint operating agreement between The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press has ended after the Dec. 28th publication, forcing the city’s two major dailies to operate fully independently and compete again. The split, the last major JOA in US newspaper publishing, marks a new era of direct media competition in Detroit, with both papers expanding their own print and digital offerings heading into 2026.

📺 10 steps to follow for local broadcasters

Local broadcasters face mounting threats from streaming platforms and changing viewer habits, so TVNewsCheck has outlined some practical steps broadcasters should take to avoid decline in relevance and revenue in 2026. Key recommendations include convincing regulators to ease ownership rules, accelerating the transition to ATSC 3.0, strengthening live sports and local news, and better integrating social/digital strategies to engage younger audiences.

Small Press, Big Ideas

A podcast about the business of local news

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | RSS

👉 First up on the Small Press, Big Ideas podcast this week I dove deep with Gordon Borrell to dissect the real state of local news.

Gordon, CEO of Borrell Associates, digs into media’s outdated economic models and lack of R&D investment, missed opportunities in storytelling for local businesses, why AI is the next big media disruptor, and how local news can rediscover its purpose by engaging with its community on its own terms.

Listen or watch here: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

👉 On the last episode of the year, I spoke with Leigh Munsil, Editor in Chief at the San Antonio Report.

Leigh’s career started at the national level covering DC politics with publications like Politico and CNN before making the shift to leading a nonprofit local newsroom in one of America's fastest growing cities.

We talked about the contrasts between national and community journalism, why local newsrooms might hold the key to the future of trustworthy, impactful journalism, and a lot more.

Listen or watch: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

More Stories

⏩ Grice Connect: A blueprint for the future of community-focused news

⏩ South Carolina ETV and Public Radio expands local journalism and community coverage heading into 2026

⏩ Osteen Media Group promotes Hugh Osteen as its next chief executive officer

⏩ The Story Behind the Story: Hawaiʻi Journalism Initiative seeks community support to sustain local news

⏩ Community foundations see funding local news as an opportunity to support healthy communities

⏩ ‘The canary in the democracy mine is local journalism’

⏩ Journalists will acknowledge the apathetic audience

⏩ Hello, Bay City: How old-school watchdog journalism is still making a difference

⏩ The trends shaping broadcast and media production in 2026

⏩ New Hampshire readers raise $77,000 to support local news