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

» Full stream ahead?

» Detroit papers coming under one roof

» A new story sharing platform as an alternative to wire services

» ChatGPT to show ads: $0 for news publishers

» The rise of Carpenter Media

🎙️ Full stream ahead?

As audiences shift to online platforms and support structures like federal funding shrink, local public radio and TV stations are struggling with rising costs that could force some to cut services or even shut down. This piece from E&P looks at the data and considers what a future that doesn’t include traditional broadcast channels could look like.

📰 Detroit papers coming under one roof

USA Today Co., the parent company of the Detroit Free Press, has agreed to acquire The Detroit News from MediaNews Group, keeping both papers publishing separately but ending decades of truly split ownership and following the end of their long joint operating agreement.

🔗 A new story sharing platform as an alternative to wire services

Plucky Wire, a simple story sharing platform born from a small New Hampshire news collaborative, is catching on nationwide. Built to make it easy for local outlets to find and republish each other’s reporting, it now has 200+ participating publishers and offers both free and low cost plans. The goal: boost collaboration and reduce reliance on costly wire services by making local news content more discoverable and shareable among community publishers. Read more

🤖 ChatGPT to show ads: $0 for news publishers

OpenAI is rolling out ads in ChatGPT’s free and low cost “Go” tiers, placing sponsored content below responses as a way to monetize the huge user base. Despite many publishers having licensing deals with OpenAI that help train models, they won’t receive any of the ad revenue from this push. Ads won’t influence ChatGPT’s answers and won’t show on sensitive topics, but the lack of revenue sharing has raised concerns in the news industry about the value exchange with AI platforms.

⚠️ The rise of Carpenter Media

Carpenter Media is quietly building one of America’s largest newspaper chains, and it's raising red flags. As the Alabama based company buys up struggling local papers from Alaska to Florida, journalists warn its opaque ownership and politically influenced editing threaten trust and editorial independence.

Small Press, Big Ideas

A podcast about the business of local news

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | RSS

🤳 The Trust Shift: Rebuilding journalism in the creator era

First on the podcast this week I spoke with Jill Manuel, founder of JCat Group and creator of The Trust Shift newsletter, to explore how trust in media is evolving and what local newsrooms must do to stay relevant.

We talked about the seismic shifts reshaping journalism in the age of vertical video, TikTok, and creator led storytelling.

Watch or listen today Apple | Spotify | YouTube

🌀 News on the ground in East Tennessee

Next up I spoke with Cliff Hightower, Managing Editor at Johnson City Press.

Cliff has covered every county in East Tennessee. Reported through hurricanes, tornadoes, even a bear attack, and his grounded, thoughtful perspective is a great glimpse into local media right now.

We talked about leading a newsroom through disaster (including a Blackhawk rooftop rescue!), why print still pays the bills but digital’s catching up, how he’s cautiously using AI (and where he draws the line), and a lot more.

Listen today Apple | Spotify | YouTube

More Stories

⏩ Defining local news: Why a newsroom census matters

⏩ Hawaiʻi Journalism Initiative adopts national nonprofit standards, paving the way for sustainable local news

⏩ Bennington journalist launches nonprofit digital hyperlocal newsroom

⏩ The Fight over AI at McClatchy

⏩ American Journalism Project invests $1.5 million in Mission Local to accelerate neighborhood-first reporting across San Francisco

⏩ The Philadelphia Inquirer had an operating profit of several million in 2025, with its first YoY revenue growth since 2004; 70% of revenue is from readers

⏩ Truth decay: So much for Gavin Newsom saving local news in California

⏩ The Baltimore Banner enters a new year — and a new chapter — with a new editor-in-chief

⏩ Inside the business of obituaries in weekly newspapers

⏩ Central Valley startup eyes AI solution to local journalism’s revenue challenges

⏩ Washington newspapers saved at last minute, ‘a small miracle’

⏩ AI Data Centers Should Help Finance Independent Local Journalism

⏩ Even amid setbacks, public funding for local news is expanding at the state level