In the eighth episode of the State of Local News Podcast, host Tim Franklin — professor, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, and founding director of the Medill Local News Initiative — speaks with Eric Barnes, CEO of The Daily Memphian.
Barnes joins Tim Franklin to discuss how The Daily Memphian has become one of the country’s most successful local digital news organizations. He explains how the nonprofit has built a diverse revenue model centered on subscriptions, advertising, events and philanthropy, and why he believes nonprofit news organizations can — and in many cases should — charge readers for their journalism.
The conversation explores The Daily Memphian’s launch in competition with The Commercial Appeal, its paywall and subscription strategy, the challenges of declining search and social media traffic and how the organization is approaching AI. Barnes also discusses the state of the local news industry and why he remains optimistic about the value of trusted local journalism.
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