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

» One paper’s $150 million plan to combat the local news crisis

» Billionaire eyes Lee Enterprises, DallasNews

» Hyperlocal News Network to offer content consulting with new partnership

» Does public media “crowd out” private news publishers?

» LMC, RJI announce expansion of partnership

📰 One paper’s $150 million plan to combat the local news crisis

This piece from NPR lays out The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s plan to strengthen its business with a $150 million runway. CEO Andrew Morse’s plan includes building out a state of the art newsroom built for streaming video, podcasts, live events and more. Morse also plans on focusing on sports, food, and Black culture in the city.

💸 Billionaire eyes Lee Enterprises, DallasNews

Florida billionaire David Hoffman, who has ambitions to build the nation’s second largest newspaper chain, has upped his stake to become Lee Enterprises’ second largest shareholder. Hoffman also disclosed that he’s now one of the largest shareholders of DallasNews, and that he’s looking to acquire several privately owned newspapers.

Read more here.

📝 Hyperlocal News Network to offer content consulting with new partnership

Hyperlocal News Network announced that it will now offer content consulting as part of its suite of tools and services for local news publishers. The offer is in partnership with David Arkin Consulting and will provide consulting on branded content strategy, content creation, SEO audits, newsletter creation, and more.

In case you missed it, you can go back and listen to interviews that I conducted with both Michael Shapiro of HNN and David Arkin on the Small Press, Big Ideas podcast earlier this year.

⚠ Does public media “crowd out” private news publishers?

A new study from Sweden set out to find if public service media stole attention, and therefore revenue, from private news publishers. The short answer is: no. In fact, the study showed that public media actually proved to be complimentary to private publishers.

🤝 LMC, RJI announce expansion of partnership

The Local Media Consortium and Reynolds Journalism Institute announced that they will expand their Digital on Demand Services (DODS) program for local publishers. The program, which provides local newsrooms with accessible content, training, and development resources will be expanded with the help of a $2.5 million grant from the Knight Foundation.

Read more here.

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Small Press, Big Ideas

A podcast about the business of local news

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Transforming Local Media with Fractional Services

This week I was joined by Kyle Rickhoff and Bob Rose of AlignSimple, a fractional service and strategy company focused on enhancing the success of local media publishers.

We discussed the concept of fractional services and the unique offerings that AlignSimple provides for publishers backed by their years in the industry.

We also talked about the evolving landscape of media, the importance of engagement through podcasting and newsletters, the challenges and strategies surrounding social media, and the need for local media organizations to adapt to new tools and audience expectations while maintaining a strong community connection.

Read more and listen here.

Local Stories

⏩ Strengthening local news in Colorado

⏩ New York City news media gets ‘hyperlocal’ entry with launch of NYC Newswire

⏩ The Green Line creates local news for the people turning away from “big-J journalism”