Reporting and disseminating news and information is — and will remain — the essence of journalism and publishing. What has changed is the increased volume of news driven by new topics, which the public wants to access anytime and from anywhere. This creates more work for journalists and editors when many newsrooms have downsized. Developing new revenue streams is an added financial burden. Managing some combination of a print product, a website and many other media and news products makes the entire reporting/publishing process even more complex.
Although there is no magic formula to alleviate all these pressures, utilizing a content management system (CMS) is the one digital tool essential for publishing and media success. Whether for-profit or nonprofit, media and news outlets of any size must achieve higher levels of efficiency, convenience and time- and cost-savings as these industries continue to evolve and become more competitive.
In response, content management systems now offer tools to improve media outlets’ bottom lines in two ways. First, better design, more reader interaction, advanced paywalls, targeted advertising services and other solutions can generate more revenue on the front end. Second, backend operational and management tools create new efficiencies and provide easy scalability, saving time and money.
Guy Tasaka, managing partner at Tasaka Digital and Editor & Publisher’s technology columnist, said a CMS has been essential for 20 years. However, there are still several obstacles to its use for many publishers.
“When I worked at the Local Media Association, it created the Technology Resource Center because it viewed technology as the biggest obstacle holding back the media industry. Within two months, I realized it was 90% culture and 10% technology. All the technology the industry needs to be wildly successful exists today, but the culture won’t let them use it,” Tasaka said.
Another obstacle, according to Tasaka, to adopting a CMS and other tech tools is that many media executives and publishers have yet to maximize the monetization of their websites. They view them as necessary platforms and an expense instead of an investment. When considered an expense, they will opt for less costly digital tools, which may limit the revenue potential of their websites and other media and news products.
Driving revenue at the front end
Bill Ostendorf, president and founder of Creative Circle Media, has battled the same cultural issues Tasaka described. Ostendorf is passionate about community journalism and local newspapers. The company hosts more than 500, and almost all are family-owned, local media outlets. He also agrees that a print publication’s website can and should generate revenue.
“We know that websites help build healthy newspapers, and we deal with many publishers who are afraid of that connection. They will say, ‘The web killed newspapers.’ My response is, ‘No, newspapers killed newspapers, not the web.’ Newspapers made many strategic mistakes and failed to invest in their futures,” Ostendorf said. “To help media companies right the ship digitally, we focused on bringing better design, dynamic layout, ease of use and concepts we know work in print to the web. Showcasing content and ads better drives engagement — in print and online.”
Ostendorf believes so strongly in the value of a print-digital combination that he advises web-only publishers to consider a print edition. He is convinced a successful digital news site would likely generate much more revenue if it had a companion print product.
“It would establish its brand with an entirely new audience. A print product would differentiate a web-only platform and strengthen its brand. It doesn’t have to be a daily edition. It could be an annual or quarterly. These sites would have a whole different dimension,” Ostendorf said.
The company’s original focus was redesigning and launching print publications because Ostendorf and his team remain strong believers in the print product. Nonetheless, market and competitive conditions prompted it to become a digital vendor in 2004. Its mediasiteQ tool is design-centric, easy to learn and a revenue generator. It includes several user-generated content options: classified, news, press release, obituary, directory, marketplace platforms, a powerful paywall and a web display ad server that defeats ad blockers, among other features. The company also offers a print CMS platform and newsroomQ to streamline print production and automate website posting.
BLOX Digital, formerly TownNews, also serves print newspapers, but its focus is helping more than 2,000 U.S. media organizations and those in international markets with their digital transformations. BLOX CMS — and the soon-to-be-released BLOX NXT — is the centerpiece of its comprehensive suite of products. Users can create layouts from one platform for print, web, mobile, social media and other information streams for multi-location media organizations and their remote staff.
Brad Ward, CEO of BLOX Digital, said affordability isn't a barrier to benefit from a CMS for almost any news organization. BLOX Digital and most all content management systems are scalable.
“We pride ourselves that we’re not just a cost center for our clients because a CMS can be a commodity. We issue invoice credits to some of them monthly with the revenue they’re generating from our revenue programs instead of them paying us,” Ward said.
BLOX Audience+ expands the revenue-generating opportunities beyond the typical paywall with smart meter technology to target readers with compelling offers to boost subscriptions and reduce churn. BLOX YieldUp guides customers through the complexities of programmatic advertising and manages and sells non-excluded programmatic and remnant ad impressions.
Wick Communications operates digital publications, newspapers and specialty magazines in many Western states. According to Reilly Kneedler, chief of staff, it has been a BLOX Digital customer for at least a decade.
Because of the diversity of the Wick media portfolio, it uses almost all of BLOX’s suite of programs, with BLOX Total CMS as the core tool. BLOX e-Edition hosts Wick’s online e-editions, and all digital subscribers are managed through the BLOX system. BLOX VMS is used in one market to manage video content.
“BLOX tools and apps have a direct impact on our revenues. It’s the primary mechanism to interact with our digital readers. Other elements, such as page speed, mean our sites are faster, which drives higher reader retention and makes it easier for people to complete the subscription process. A CMS is as important today in the digital age as the printing press was during the last hundred years,” Kneedler said.
Creating cost savings at the backend
For any business to survive, sustain itself and grow, it must control costs regardless of how much revenue it generates. Most CMSs have evolved during the past 15 to 20 years to offer more flexible, efficient and easy-to-use tools. Staff members can accomplish more in less time and with less stress, and editors can interface smoothly with the printing process. The training and almost 24/7 support that most CMS companies provide their customers result in less downtime and more productivity.
“We have eight programmers, designers and editors in our Providence office. Because I want everyone to know the customer is important, all those support people and I see every support ticket. I handle half a dozen support tickets every day. Seventy percent of our tickets are resolved within an hour, and 92% within 24 hours. We also take support tickets from our customers' readers. I want everyone on the staff to know it’s about the user experience and we will fix any user-experience issue whenever we see a problem,” Ostendorf said.
By having staff designers, Creative Circle Media can also help a local publication whenever it is shorthanded because of an illness or vacancy by posting content to the web or even producing a print publication. There is no publishing interruption, reader dissatisfaction or revenue loss. “We’re not just a CMS vendor. We can support or enhance content, ad sales, print production and training — almost anything our publishers do,” Ostendorf said.
In December 2024, the beta version of BLOX NXT was launched, bringing new enhancements to the company's CMS with AI-powered tools, collaborative document editing and streamlined subscriber management workflow.
“We built an AI-powered search into BLOX NXT to save time when managing subscribers. It saves media outlets from having to build a complicated advanced search. Our customers can see revenue data, number of subscribers, new subscribers, subscribers in grace and many data points. It’s unnecessary to have a separate platform to view all data,” said Ward.
TAPinto’s custom CMS for franchisees and any publisher
Since 2008, Michael and Lauryn Shapiro have grown TAPinto into a franchised network of 95 independently owned local news outlets in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida. It was named a top franchise in 2024 by Franchise Business Review. TAPinto had already developed a custom-built CMS for all its franchisees when the network launched. Its DIY Marketing Program received the first-place award for Innovation in 2024 from the Local Media Association.
“We developed our system because we want to innovate and not depend on other vendors to fix problems or introduce new solutions. We have a team of six full-time developers to create new features and continually improve the CMS for our readers, advertisers and licensees,” Shapiro, founder and CEO, said.
Several independent publishers approached Shapiro in 2023 to learn how to utilize the technology. This resulted in creating a separate company, Hyperlocal News Network, LLC. It offers a license for TAPinto’s CMS as well as back-office services to existing and new publishers. Licensees have access to all of the services and support of the CMS but retain their branding as a licensee rather than a franchisee. Additionally, franchisees and licensees can share content and sell advertising to each other. For example, TAPinto Wayne, a New Jersey TAPinto franchisee, sold advertising to licensee Commerce Magazine NJ, the statewide business publication.
TAPinto’s CMS also includes a robust a la carte selection of back-office, human resources and digital leadership and content services: media liability insurance, DocuSign, HubSpot (CRM), graphic design, advertisers’ billing and credit card processing, hiring and onboarding, payroll management, benefits selection and administration and SEO and social media audits.
“Of particular value for publishers is media liability insurance. A $2-million policy can cost thousands a year, but we can provide coverage for only a couple of hundred dollars annually, which is at our cost with no markup,” Shapiro said.
As a CMS becomes necessary in today’s competitive and complex media world, companies considering a CMS should first review and understand their business plan and long-term goals. Then, they can look at the options, see demos, talk to other customers and ask for quotes.
Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010. He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.
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