Few areas of publishing have been battered more strongly by the headwinds of digital media than local news. The conflict between scale and meaningful local coverage has meant businesses have struggled to replace print profitability with anything close to significant revenue streams in digital.
Yet in recent years, we’ve seen some publishers really find their footing, from legacy titles who have successfully undergone digital transformation, to many start-ups which have risen up to fill the information gaps in their communities.
As part of a special four-part podcast series, supported by the Google News Initiative, we’ve been talking to publishers and experts across Europe who are working to find resilient business models. We spoke to them about the state of the local news market in their regions, how they’ve evolved company culture and practice, and what tools and trends they’re working with to prepare for the next decade.
Episode 1: State of the market
In this first episode, we look at some of the historical context around the state of local news, shifts in the UK and European markets, and what ‘good’ local news might look like. We also do a deep dive into some of the issues facing the UK local news market, as well as the continuing value of local news to communities.
Episode 2: Finding resilient business models
In part two, we explore the challenges and opportunities that local news organisations are facing with finding sustainable revenue streams, as well as looking at some specific case studies of publications across Europe to find out what mix they’re using.
Episode 3: Evolving company culture and practice
To build a sustainable – and successful – publishing business requires staff to be on board with changes, as well as a collaborative environment with good communication. For local news organisations, external relationships with audiences also need work. In this episode, we speak to some local news organisations about getting company culture to the best possible place.
Episode 4: The tools and trends that will shape the next decade
What metrics should local news publishers be focusing on, and what new tech is out there to support growing businesses? Our fourth and final episode explores the tools, tech and trends – including AI – which organisations are using or looking to use in the future.
Experts featured in this series:
- Doug Smith – Lead architect, Table Stakes
- Pierre France, Co-Founder, Rue89 Strasbourg
- Jayne Savva, Group Features Editor (news), DC Thomson
- Craig Walker, Editor, Press and Journal and Evening Express, DC Thomson
- Cheryl Livingstone, Special Projects Editor, DC Thomson
- Emily Hewett, Head of Audience Development, DC Thomson
- Jonathan Heawood, Executive Director, Public Interest News Foundation
- David Floyd, Managing Director, Social Spider
- Nicola Negrin, Editor in Chief, Il Giornale Di Vicenza, Gruppo Editoriale Athesis
- Prof. Dr. Wiebke Möhring, Professor of Journalism, TU Dortmund Institute for Journalism
- Benedicte Autret, Head of News Partnerships, UK/IE/Northern Europe, Google
This series is supported by the Google News Initiative. They work with publishers and journalists to fight misinformation, share resources, and build a diverse and innovative local news system. Find out more about their programmes, tools and resources at newsinitiative.withgoogle.com
You may be interested in:
- Podcast: The start-ups saving local news in the U.S.
- Media Moments 2023: The state of local news
- Report: Practical AI for Local Media
