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

→ Gannett papers won’t endorse a presidential candidate

→ The State of Local News 2024

→ Is the Google/ California deal a model for other states?

→ How AI can up-level local TV news

→ Minnesota news partnership announced

❌ Gannett papers won’t endorse a presidential candidate

Gannett has mandated that 200+ publications will not endorse a presidential candidate in the lead up to the US elections on November 5th.

The move comes after The Washington Post and L.A. Times announced that they will not be endorsing a candidate, with WaPo facing backlash for its decision.

The Gannett owned local publishers will still be able to endorse candidates at the state and local levels at their own discretion.

🗞 The State of Local News 2024

The Medill State of Local News Report 2024 was released, finding that the nation’s news deserts appear to be expanding.

The report found that 127 local newspapers closed, but also showed a net increase of 80 local digital news sites in the last year.

Read more here.

🤝 Is the Google/ California deal a model for other states?

Could the deal cut between Google and local newsrooms in California earlier this year be a model for other states? This piece from The Local News Initiative explores the possibilities and other states that may be using the agreement as a precedent.

Spoiler: it’s probably too early to tell.

📺 How AI can up-level local TV news

This article explores the potential use cases of AI for local TV news broadcasters. The problems to fix: a people problem, a product problem and a profit problem. The solutions: assignment bots, producer bots, reporter assistant bots and more.

📰 Minnesota news partnership announced

The Minnesota Star Tribune announced that it will be launching a new statewide partnership program funded by a grant from the Google News Initiative.

The program will offer content sharing between local news organizations in the state, as well as subscription bundling to create new revenue streams for publishers.

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Small Press, Big Ideas

A podcast about the business of local news

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The Value of Data and The Role of Super Connectors in Local Media

This week on the podcast I was joined by Johnny Levy, CEO of DataJoe and founder of the Media Data Collaborative.

We discussed the significance of data in local media, the challenges of monetizing that data, and the importance of networking. Johnny shares his view on the role of connection in the media space, sharing insights on how he leverages his strengths as a connector to foster relationships and collaboration.

We also spoke about the Media Data Collaborative group and Johnny's People of Media series.

Local Stories

⏩ A College Partnership Saves a Newspaper

⏩ Community journalism starts with community

⏩ Most of Virginia has one or no local news sources in election year