In news media advertising, organizations often spend too much time analyzing rates and comparing them to similar-sized outlets. It’s important, but sometimes, focusing too much on rate hinders the ability to assess an opportunity directly. Before immediately delving into pricing considerations, it’s crucial first to identify opportunities aligned with your organization’s goals.

Implementing new revenue streams, from events to newsletters to podcasts to philanthropy — and even T-shirts — has been the goal of many news publishers for several years. Some don’t require much investment, while others require a major commitment in money and staff time. Some have worked, and others haven’t.

As the entire world seemingly rushes to embrace the latest iteration of generative AI, whether ChatGPT, Bard or the many similar apps, media sales teams must take a more measured approach. That starts with realizing it is a tool and is not the answer to all needs and challenges. Additionally, the parameters of its use and protections from its erroneous and malicious misuse are not yet set.

Richard E. Brown, senior director of retention for The Daily Beast and a columnist with Editor & Publisher, is convinced that 2024 will be a year dedicated to strengthening the bond between advertisers and audiences, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration. He says this commitment will ensure that "the future of local news media remains vibrant and aligned with the diverse needs of the communities served. Furthermore, emerging trends complement this dedication, promising continued growth and a positive, sustainable trajectory."

If a picture is worth a thousand words, newspapers have delivered both types of content for over a century. Television took content one step further with motion, sound and color. Today, video content has exploded across multiple TV platforms and escaped from the TV environment to be available almost everywhere and created by almost anyone.

2023 has been a year rife with layoffs, buyouts and a continuation of a difficult media sales environment. It takes resilience, grit and out-of-the-box thinking to succeed. The 2024 class of E&P Media Sales Superstars stand out in their ability to stand up against these challenging times, stay focused and get the job done for their customers, their communities and the companies they represent.

Although daunting for some, budget season has always been a therapeutic and comforting time for me. It’s when our focus shifts to the outlook for the upcoming year. This is when we create comprehensive game plans involving contingencies, market nuances and gap analysis and align projects to meet potential objectives and stretch goals. We diligently put everything in place to view things in three dimensions: mitigate risks, address issues head-on and navigate relationships that contribute to the community's perceived value of the organization.

Once upon a time, newspapers had an easy-to-work gold mine: classified advertising. Then, the internet and new technologies made the recruitment process more accessible, and suddenly, the gold mine’s ceiling collapsed, and newspapers lost a lucrative revenue source. Fast-forward to the 21st century, and there are more sophisticated technologies and opportunities for newspapers and all media to re-open the recruitment gold mine with a robust job board.

Industry executives in circulation audit and data mining say ZIP code-level data tied to e-editions have sparked more advertising interest. Newspapers armed with the correct data can report larger penetration numbers in crucial ZIP codes and recapture national advertisers who dropped their inserts.

Throughout my career in revenue generation, I have analyzed this situation from various perspectives, encountering both benefits and challenges. The print versus digital argument in local news media revenue has posed challenges for decades. However, one positive aspect has been the ability of any advertising to generate desired outcomes, including customer conversions, business transactions and income generation for local advertising sponsors. It is crucial to incorporate more impactful digital advertising that can replicate the sense and experience of a print ad.

To brand themselves as a primary voice in their communities and appeal to the broadest audience, newspapers have included games and puzzles in their entertainment content for over 100 years. Readers continue to enjoy games and puzzles, but now there are opportunities to monetize that content.

The path to revenue growth lies in mastering the strategy behind renewals, whether in advertising sales or subscriptions, while driving new acquisitions and assessing their long-term impact on the bottom line. It’s an area that combines strategy, sales and financial analysis and presents a compelling model for outlining the foundation of revenue growth in news media organizations.