For years, local media companies have invested heavily in digital services, believing they were building the next generation of sustainable advertising revenue. Yet according to digital advertising veteran Zack Watson, many publishers may be overlooking a critical problem: The issue isn’t selling digital marketing solutions — it’s what happens after the sale. During a recent E&P webinar, Watson argued that hidden fulfillment costs, reporting expenses, programmatic markups and operational inefficiencies are quietly eroding margins, leaving publishers with impressive revenue numbers but far less profit than they realize. more

Can a newspaper survive — and even thrive — without a paywall? In this month’s digital media column, E&P columnist Rob Tornoe examines the bold decision by The Salt Lake Tribune to make all of its journalism free after more than 150 years as a subscription-based publication. The move offers a fascinating case study in nonprofit sustainability, audience growth and whether membership, philanthropy and community support can replace traditional digital subscription revenue. more

Yahoo Finance is launching a dedicated hub for media and advertising news and analysis in partnership with ADWEEK, MediaPost, Marketing Brew, Axios and Marketing Dive. The new hub delivers in-depth coverage from these publishers, as well as original reporting from Yahoo Finance. more

Shawn Palmer, publisher of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Greenfield Recorder and Athol Daily News, is set to add being president and chief executive officer of Newspapers of New England to his responsibilities. more

Rebuild Local News and Muck Rack report that 70% of counties are severely undercovered — employing below-average numbers of local journalist equivalents — and large number of counties have hardly any coverage of education and health. more

New BBC director general Matt Brittin has outlined the first phase of his savings plan for the broadcaster, which includes cutting jobs, commissioning spend and already existing programs. more

Brian Abel has been promoted to CNN anchor and correspondent, the network announced today. In this new role, Abel will appear across CNN platforms, including CNN, CNNi and CNN Headlines, the network’s domestic FAST channel, to deliver up-to-the-minute reporting while continuing to anchor on a fill in basis across CNN. more

Peter Blair is taking on a new role as senior editor for Editing and News Support, and Hamilton Boardman will lead N.D.S. more

Emily Davies, a distinguished reporter who’s reported on the Trump administration, will cover political news. more

iHeartMedia is rolling out a new advertising platform designed to give broadcast radio many of the targeting and measurement capabilities long associated with digital media. more

The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina) has promoted Laura Finaldi to editor following a national search. more

The Federal Communications Commission has officially set the ground rules for what will be the first filing window in agency history for new noncommercial educational FM translators in the reserved portion of the FM band, moving ahead with an August application period. more

The newspaper’s lease was supposed to go through 2029, but it will now end June 30. more

WIRED is launching a new forum-style app which lets readers interact with its editorial team. more

Gray Media announced an enhanced political digital advertising solution powered by Aristotle, a trusted provider of political data and analytics. The offering integrates Aristotle's political and consumer data into Gray's Political 360 go-to-market strategy, empowering candidates, issues and advocacy organizations to connect with the right constituents with greater precision across digital channels. more

The signals, shifts and strategic questions that matter most for publishers navigating platform dependence, fragmentation, AI-driven change and the challenge of building direct relationships. more

FOX Advertising announced the launch of the industry’s first end-to-end agentic advertising platform, powered by FOX AdStudio, the company’s unified data and technology platform that was introduced in April. more

Today, more and more people believe important news will reach them online without their actively seeking it out. Instead, they believe “news finds me,” relying on algorithms and social networks for information. more