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

» Could live streaming local sports boost engagement for local publishers?

» Amazon is reaching out to publishers to help revamp Alexa

» The role of TV news in the declining trust in media

» How to introduce subscriptions to readers

🏅 Could live streaming local sports boost engagement for local publishers?

A publisher in Sweden has reported increased engagement and interest from younger audiences after offering local sports as bonus “fireside content”. The broadcasts include pre and post game coverage, and has reportedly built loyalty and community among consumers.

🔊 Amazon is reaching out to publishers to help revamp Alexa

According to Axios, Amazon is reaching out to publishers at the local and national levels to improve the next generation of its Alexa AI voice assistant. The potential partnerships are part of an effort by the company to incorporate news answers into Alexa via text and photo query results. Publishers will reportedly be compensated via a licensing agreement and search results will be attributed to the publisher.

📺 The role of TV news in the declining trust in media

A new study shows that the steady decline in media trust may actually be partially due to the decline of TV news viewing habits. Although the authors were careful to note that there was no definitive link between correlation and causation, the results indicated that trust tended to erode more quickly in areas where TV news viewership declined and social media consumption increased.

Read more here.

📜 How to introduce subscriptions to readers

This post from The Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel introducing the publication’s new subscription model is a great example of announcing a new model to readers. The copy is personable, it clearly outlays the benefits of payed subscriptions, and reminds the reader of the benefits provided by the publisher. It also reassures readers that they won’t be losing anything by not subscribing.

Post your job or event for free: Your job or event will be listed for free in the newsletter for up to 30 days. We do ask that the listing pertain to the local news industry or be closely related. To get started just click the link below.

Small Press, Big Ideas

A podcast about the business of local news

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | RSS

Season two of Small Press, Big Ideas has wrapped up! Look for new episodes starting in early January 2025. If you’d like to catch up on the podcast and hear stories of innovation and wins from around the local news industry, you can find the full playlist here.

Local Stories

⏩ The Georgia Voice, Atlanta’s landmark LGBTQ newspaper, has a new owner

⏩ The state of local news in Colorado, mapped

⏩ Reporter launches funding campaign to bring local news back to Chelsea

⏩ A new kind of local news in San Francisco