Misunderstanding this basic fact is why journos think "Local news is dying/dead" instead of evolving into something better. The former means saving big ass companies and their problematic scale model, as Dr. Littau describes it. But if... /1
If we embrace "Local news is evolving" then we can, essentially for the first time in our history, build the business of local journalism to align with our values (truth, justice, democracy) as a practice that is holistic in its service to the communities we cover. /2
This is the grand lesson of Jeremy's epic threads. We've accepted a false equivalence between the business of local news and the mission of local journalism. The biz model is inadequate and its value prop has failed, but the practice of journalism still remains valuable. /3
Jettison the scale/attention model and we can build local news without serving two masters.
Put simply, how much harder will it be for McClatchy, Tribune and the new Gannett to meet their challenges AND make money for shareholders, which is how their businesses are built? /4
Put simply, how much harder will it be for McClatchy, Tribune and the new Gannett to meet their challenges AND make money for shareholders, which is how their businesses are built? /4
Our strategy at The Devil Strip is to increase civic currency with our community. We focus on folks without a regular news habit. We create pathways for participation so the community shapes how we tell Akron's story. We want to be an essential gateway to the civic life. /5
The "new business model" angle of the co-op gets too much attention. Its real strength is how it can support and protect @akrondevilstrip's values, carving out more ways for the public to connect with their neighbors, our city and a greater sense of shared purpose. /6
Want to be better represented in local news? Buy a co-op share and have a say!
This comes from something else Jeremy's threads illustrate and @kristenhare has said: The good ol', prosperous days of local news left a lot of people out, like everyone who wasn't white and male. /7
This comes from something else Jeremy's threads illustrate and @kristenhare has said: The good ol', prosperous days of local news left a lot of people out, like everyone who wasn't white and male. /7
This is the danger lurking in our movement towards more reader direct revenue. It'll be easy to repeat those mistakes. If you don't perceive marginalized communities as your customers, you won't serve them, and they won't be your customers because you don't serve them. /8
For orgs to represent and serve a whole community, people need better ways to affect change than angry calls/emails or voting with their feet.
We need a stronger value proposition than information (it's abundant) and accountability (requires public consent to actually work) /9
We need a stronger value proposition than information (it's abundant) and accountability (requires public consent to actually work) /9
Diatribes about Craigslist, The Athletic, Google and Facebook have focused our attention only on lost revenue streams instead of the real consequence: lost social currency. Each step moved local media further from a place of centrality in the lives of our (former) readers. /10
Yeah, classifieds made bank for newspapers, but that's because, once upon a time, it alone could connect strangers looking to secure shelter, sell a car, find a job or get a date. That's a big part of the value for that 68% Jeremy mentioned.
So too is sports coverage. /11
So too is sports coverage. /11
The real harm of poaching long-time sports reporters isn't the loss of those single-topic subscribers, but it's another reason people don't need us to connect through conversation with their family, friends and co-workers. We're less and less relevant. /12
As a business, the platforms work on fundamentally the same model that made Hearst, Pulitzer, Knight, etc., rich back in the day but with greater efficiency and scale.
The value Google and Facebook offer consumers better than the news is knowing what everyone is thinking. /13
The value Google and Facebook offer consumers better than the news is knowing what everyone is thinking. /13
We think our value is informing the public so they can vote or know when they've been ripped off, but what matters most to social animals like us is much simpler: how do we equip them to connect with and stay in the tribe? We crave knowing what everyone else is thinking. /14
The front page and evening broadcast used to do that, but the Internet, as a distribution method, replaced the news, even as it's fueled by the news.
So as local news evolves, our goal shouldn't merely be financially sustainable journalism. Our sights should be set higher. /15
So as local news evolves, our goal shouldn't merely be financially sustainable journalism. Our sights should be set higher. /15
How might we matter more to more people?
We absolutely should abandon scale as a philosophy, but I think we can still be valuable to that middle 68%.
However, it won't happen by mixing crosswords and classifieds in with watchdog reporting or pivoting to TikTok. /16
We absolutely should abandon scale as a philosophy, but I think we can still be valuable to that middle 68%.
However, it won't happen by mixing crosswords and classifieds in with watchdog reporting or pivoting to TikTok. /16
What if, instead of investing our time, money and energy in ad tech, A/B testing headlines and poking the audience in the lizard brain for their short-term attention, we instead did the slow, difficult work of building and fostering community for their long-term commitment? /17
That is, how might we foster a long-term commitment to the places where we live, not to us for our own sake as news orgs and outlets (or our corporate overlords), but rather as partners with our neighbors for the greater good of our communities.
End ramble. /18
End ramble. /18
