Small Press, Big Ideas

A podcast about the business of local news

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Local News Network is empowering rural communities by producing bite sized video news packages in southwestern Colorado, with plans to grow organically across the nation.

Do you remember the launch of MTV?

To be fair, I don’t.

As an elder millennial, it was just a little before my time, but I do have fond memories of MTV’s heyday.

When MTV launched in 1981, there were fears that the new format would disrupt the music industry and cause general chaos to those employed there. In a self aware jest aimed at the recording industry, the first music video aired on the new station was Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.

Video did not, it turns out, kill the radio star.

Instead of cannibalizing the music industry as feared, it turned out that music videos introduced an entirely new format that encouraged new consumption habits. You could say that MTV actually grew the pie for musicians, record labels, and other players.

Today’s guest on Small Press, Big Ideas is well aware of this history, and is looking to accomplish something similar in the local news media industry: to create new consumption habits for local news.

Laurie Sigillito is the founder of Local News Network, a digital media startup based out of Durango, Colorado. Local News Network produces original, local news stories in a video format and distributes them across a number of platforms.

Laurie’s career positioned her well to start Local News Network. She worked for years in the tech sector in Silicon Valley, NYC and Austin doing data integration. Laurie then relocated to Durango to raise her children at a time when remote work wasn’t as ubiquitous as it is today.

After landing in Colorado, Laurie opened a Fast Signs franchise. Her background allowed her to start introducing technology into the historic signage business, rolling out digital out of home networks in the community. This eventually led to the need to create video content and ads for the network.

This happened around the same time as the rise of YouTube, which propelled Laurie to learn more about creating content, sharing that content, and eventually to the need for local news. Laurie envisions Local News Network as a pipeline for local news into the community.

How does it work?

One part of the model is the aforementioned digital out of home networks. These are the screens that you’ll frequently see in public places with useful information or ads on them. The beauty of Local News Network is that by leveraging these portals, audiences don’t need to be aware of the brand.

If you’re waiting for your order at the local coffee shop, you’ll watch what’s on the TV. You don’t need to know that the content you’re seeing is produced by a new digital startup focused on local journalism, you’re just interested in the results of the high school football game or the ad for the new auto body shop down the street.

The pitch to advertisers is pretty straightforward as well: we’ve got the eyeballs out in the local community. Think of Local News Network as the new version of your old local TV station.

In addition to the digital out of home network, Local News Network also repurposes the video content for YouTube, social media, podcasts, and newsletters. They’ve found great organic growth here, as the content is by nature very sharable. Once they’ve found an audience, they tend to be very sticky.

What about the content?

Local News Network produces 1 to 5 minute video clips hosted by a journalist. They’ve systematized the production to maximize efficiency and cut down the time needed to produce it. They use locally filmed B-roll footage to supplement the stories.

The journalists producing the content live in the communities they’re reporting on. Laurie has had luck hiring fresh college graduates with business or journalism degrees and training them in the town that the network has launched in.

It’s an amazing stepping stone for graduates from college into media. They learn business and multimedia journalism, how a town operates, what’s important for the news, how to host a show, edit it, and should have a great demo reel for future potential media employers.

Where is Local News Network operating?

Local News Network launched in Laurie’s hometown of Durango. They have now expanded to other communities in the four corners region, with affiliates in Telluride, Montezuma, and Farmington, New Mexico.

The ideal community size for Local News Network is 10,000 to 50,000, or “Micropolitan Communities” across rural America.

Laurie has considered franchising out the network to new affiliates and then training the owners on how to operate it, or to sell the rights to the journalists currently operating the outlets.

Local News Network is a very cool example of someone leveraging their existing skill set and knowledge base in service of community journalism, and with a sustainable business model to boot.

Please have a listen to the episode to hear Laurie’s vision in her own words and to hear us dive deeper on Local News Network, how it works, and where it’s headed. I had a great time speaking with her, I hope you’ll enjoy it as well!