These days, there’s no shortage of options for news and information, but that also means getting noticed is tougher than ever before. That is why it helps (and is more important) to not only know your audience —who they are — but to know what motivates them and what can pique their interest.

There is a sudden swell of optimism about the state of journalism in Chicago, where local journalists are about to answer a question I posed on these pages several years ago: Why can’t newspapers create a business model similar to public radio stations?

ThinkNewsBrands, a cooperative of Australian publishers, has studied advertising effectiveness across media platforms — in its “Benchmark and Payback Series.” In August, the group released a new installment in the series, The Social Chapter, which looked at key indicators and ad metrics. In August, the group released a new installment in the series, The Social Chapter, which looked at key indicators and ad metrics, such as short-term and long-term memory recall, and “brand lift” —

Recently, America’s Newspapers encouraged a “Shop Local, Eat Local, Read Local” campaign. The topic of supporting local spending has never been timelier and more critical. Never has our locally-owned and operated business base been under more pressure. As this pressure continues to mount, so will the pressure on the local news media companies as well. 

In a digital age where news is preserved online, newsrooms are facing increasing pressure to “unpublish.” To help newsrooms address the matter, Deborah Dwyer, a Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) fellow and a doctoral candidate in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, created Unpublishing the News...

Audio is a platform unlike any other, in that it closes the distance—physically and cognitively—between the listener and host and guests. In conversations with people who podcast, you’ll hear the word “intimate” used a lot to describe the relationship between listener and the voices emanating from their earbuds.

The time has come to expand our footprint outside of traditional journalism and information realm and into a total market is our playground approach. Providing non-journalism and informational products is a must.

Lee Enterprises, Inc. has launched a new food-focused digital magazine called Feast and Field, which explores farming, food production, culinary history, and cooking. Found at feastandfield.net, the product is the latest expansion of Feast Magazine, which launched in 2010...

When asked what the most critical component of their business model is, I believe most news media executives will indicate that their audience is what sets them apart. That makes perfect sense as our audience is the foundation upon which all other aspects such as advertising (both traditional and digital), editorial, events and so forth rest upon...

Recently, I was reminiscing about a question I heard years ago at an industry event by a media executive who was inquiring about how one would purchase a small or mid-sized newspaper. Media analyst and speaker Jim Chisholm said without hesitation, “Just buy a large metro newspaper and wait a few years.” He probably didn’t understand just how prophetic he was at the time.

For Shaw Media, the most promising source of digital revenue growth is through their digital subscriptions, which is why the organization recently launched Shaw Local, a digital local news network covering northern Illinois. It includes all of Shaw Media’s local news coverage from its 53 Illinois newspapers and magazines.

As I work with media companies and their communities, there is a term I like to use called “Economic Gardening.” In the community transformation and revitalization world, this simply means to work at nurturing and cultivating your current communitywide assets in lieu of buying new assets.

In a recent conversation I had with a news media company and its audience director and publisher, they were excited and proud they had been able to increase their audience pricing in both print and online successfully. Additionally, they had been able to implement these increases while reducing their print footprint and maintaining their digital footprint with little damage.

Changes to social media and search prompt publishers to shift strategy.

The availability of culturally relevant content plays a major role in which platforms and services Black TV content viewers decide to use, according to Horowitz Research’s new annual report, FOCUS Black Volume I: Subscriptions 2024.

Many news organizations have shed jobs this year, but certain industry segments are hiring, including audience engagement. 

Here’s an idea to steal and adapt: Build your audience with “daily briefing” emails, then leverage that audience for additional advertising and subscription revenue.

The paper secured 48 new monthly subscribers and $14,000 in projected revenue in four weeks.