E&P Reports with Mike Blinder

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For 15 years, Ken Doctor has been preaching innovative news publishing business models through Newsonomics, his own company and website. Six months ago, he started his experiment Lookout Local, which launched with Lookout Santa Cruz, the company's first site based in Santa Cruz County, Calif. Doctor's intention with the site is to show the industry his vision on what is needed to be the local news leader this decade. Today he boasts over 12,000+ email followers and just under 1,000 paid website subscribers after just three months of putting his content behind a paywall.

Lookout Local was started with $2.5-million dollars donated by the Knight Foundation, Google News Innovation Challenge, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, and various other foundations. One of his news publishing competitors is Dan Pulcrano, CEO of Metro Newspapers and owner of Good Times a free-circulation weekly newspaper based in Santa Cruz. Pulcrano recently penned an editorial claiming that the $2.5 million Doctor raised was partly due to his shopping a false narrative that Santa Cruz is a 'news desert,' a community without reporting, one that's uninformed and parched for news—it is anything but. For decades."

In this episode of Editor & Publisher's Vodcast: "E&P Reports," publisher Mike Blinder checks in with Doctor and Jed Williams, founding chief revenue officer at Lookout Local, on how their business model is doing after launching during a pandemic.

Watch this Vodcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7uTMrE5ygkQ

Related Links: Lookout Local Santa Cruz Website: https://lookout.co/santacruz/

Ken Doctor's Email message on Lookout Local's 6-month anniversary:

https://lookout.co/santacruz/business-technology/local-business/story/2021-05-25/six-months-in-we-at-lookout-thank-you

Dan Pulcrano's Editorial: "Lookout Local: Ken Doctor's False Narrative About Santa Cruz:" https://goodtimes.sc/santa-cruz-news/lookout-local-ken-doctor-false-narrative/

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In the June 2021 Editor and Publisher cover story, editor-in-chief Nu Yang takes an in-depth look at how a number of Minneapolis journalists covered the events from George Floyd's death to the conviction of the police officer deemed responsible.

In this edition of E&P's Vodcast series "E&P Reports," publisher Mike Blinder has a frank discussion with the Minneapolis Star Tribune's editorial management on what it was like to run a newsroom remotely, while covering one of the biggest stories of our time. Moreover, with all the global attention focused on their city, was it hard to hold to journalistic standards of balance of fairness in each story filed? Plus, with reporters receiving death threats and being shot at with rubber bullets, how did they maintain safety for each team member in the field? As they reflect a year later, how did the incidents and issues effect the Star Tribune's own feelings and policies on diversity and inclusion?

Learn what it was like to manage a newsroom through crises with Star Tribune editor and senior vice president Rene Sanchez, managing editor and vice president Suki Dardarian, and newly appointed managing editor for diversity and community Kyndell Harkness.

Watch This Episode on YouTube:https://youtu.be/Uu0p3RTlMEc

Related Links: E&P June 2021 Cover Story "How Minnesota Journalists Covered a Year of Crisis: https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/how-minnesota-journalists-covered-a-year-of-crisis,194200?

For years, many media companies used remnant inventory as reciprocal trade in order to receive in-kind goods and services, such as prizes or meals. But what if there were new start-up companies willing to give you equity in their business in exchange for being able to market to your readers and viewers? That opportunity is now available from a new venture capital firm called Arrandale Ventures.

Founded by two industry veterans, Zach Richner (Richner Communications) and Jeremy Mims (Spoken Layer/OwnLocal), Arrandale Ventures' job is to seek out growing B2C and B2B startups that serve local residents, businesses, and governments, and match them with marketing services across a national footprint of local media. Today, they have hundreds of media companies onboard who are gaining equity in exchange for the advertising services they provide.

In this segment of "E&P Reports," publisher Mike Blinder chats with Richner and Mims about how their new venture capital firm works, and what the benefits and risks are for a media company to participate.

Related LinksArrandale Ventures Website: https://arrandaleventures.com/

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Raymond Alcide Joseph is arguably one of the most remarkable news publishers in our industry today. In 1971, while working as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, he founded, with his brother Léo, the Haiti Observateur, a weekly newspaper and 24/7 website that publishes in four languages (Haitian Creole, French, and English). Today, it remains the free voice of the Haitian people.

For five years, Joseph served as Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., and during the massive 2010 earthquake, he was essentially the functioning government since the capitol, Port au Prince, was substantially damaged, and the country's elected leadership could not be reached.

Joseph is credited by The American Bible Society as the original translator of the New Testament with the Psalms from original languages and French to Haitian Creole. His autobiographical book, "For Whom the Dogs Spy," reveals Joseph's insider's account—having served under four presidents—of Haiti's struggle to build a democracy during the tyrannical reign of dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, who used the legend of voodoo to bewitch the country into fearing him.

In this segment of "E&P Reports," publisher Mike Blinder goes one-on-one with Joseph on topics that range from the start of his newspaper and how he influenced change during a cruel dictatorship to his opinions on the importance of a free press, not just in Haiti but here in the U.S. as well.

Watch this Episode on YouTube:https://youtu.be/mco-0lUqgj4

Related Links: More information about Ambassador Raymond Alcide Joseph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Joseph

Haïti Observateur Website: http://www.haiti-observateur.ca

Ambassador Joseph's Autobiography, "For Whom the Dogs Spy:" https://www.amazon.com/Whom-Dogs-Spy-Dictatorships-Earthquake-ebook/dp/B00R3L7692/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=For+Whom+the+Dogs+Spy%2C&qid=1621338011&sr=8-3

Alec Johnson is the fourth generation to manage Johnson Newspaper Corporation, owners of the Watertown Daily Times, a newspaper serving New York's North Country region since 1861. Today the Johnson family's media company has five daily publications, several weeklies, and magazines. They have a solid commitment to multimedia with a company-wide website, NNY360.com, that serves the entire region with news and classifieds.

In 2019, Johnson made the difficult decision to shutter the Ogdensburg Journal, one their publications that dated back to 1858, serving a city of 10,000+ residents along the St. Lawrence River. However, starting in June, the paper will begin to print again.

In this segment of 'E&P REPORTS' Publisher Mike Blinder discusses with President & COO Alec Johnson why the company decided to bring back the Journal and their strong commitment to printing a quality product in a growing digital world.

Johnson Newspaper's Webiste NNY 360: https://www.nny360.com

In 2018, ten former employees of The Denver Post started The Colorado Sun in response to multiple layoffs after the Post's acquisition by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital.

Initially started with a combination of financial and technical support from Civil, a blockchain platform for news organization and from a Kickstarter campaign, The Sun was able to hire the staff and build the business disrupt the news ecosystem of this major market.

Today the Sun remains journalist-owned and is growing audience relying on member support and sponsorships in order to pay the bills. And now, thanks to help from The National Trust for Local News the Sun has purchased Colorado Community Media, which has 24 weekly and monthly newspapers serving eight counties including and surrounding Denver.

In this segment of "E&P Reports" E&P Publisher Mike Blinder chats with Larry Ryckman Editor at the Sun, along Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro Co-Founder at The National Trust for Local News and Senior Research Fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism on how and how the forming of public benefit corporations could be the next news model to help keep legacy newspaper brands alive.

Related links

Colorado Sun Website: https://coloradosun.com

Old Town Media Website: http://oldtownmedia.nyc

Dr. Iris Chyi is an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in media economics, and well-known for benchmarking reader demand for the print and digital content provided by major market newspapers.

A few years ago, she caused a stir in the industry by describing through data that the digital content that the top 50 newspapers provide was being perceived as an "inferior good" by their readers. She went on to compare digital non-replica news sites as "Raman noodles," and the print editions to steak, stating that people tend to perceive online newspapers as less likable and less satisfying. In her book, "Trial and Error: U.S. Newspapers' Digital Struggles toward Inferiority," she challenges U.S. newspapers' technology-driven strategy, calling for a critical reassessment of the future of the industry.

In her latest research, "The Impact of COVID-19 on 20 U.S. Newspapers' Print and Digital Circulation," Dr. Chyi takes a hard look at empirical data on the impact of COVID-19 with these selected publications. The report reveals that even through digital subscriptions went up by 64 percent between 2019 and Q3 2020, print circulation dropped by an average of 21 percent. Data showed that the average price charged for digital access is now $181 a year, while seven-day print subscription rates are $1,052 a year. The report states that this price gap shows it takes nearly six new digital subscribers to make up for the loss of one print subscriber.

In this edition of "E&P REPORTS," Dr. Chyi reviews the findings of her April 2021 report with E&P publisher Mike Blinder.

Dr. Chyi's 2020 Report: The Impact of Covid-19 on 20 U.S. Newspapers' Print and Digital Circulation

Dr. Chyis' 2017 Report: An Empirical Analysis of 50 U.S. Newspapers' Digital Subscription Results

In his byline, Lansing's City Pulse Managing Editor Kyle Kaminski proudly states he is "a cannabis enthusiast who has been smoking marijuana just about every day for the last decade." So, it is no wonder that this alternative weekly in Michigan's state capitol has become, arguably, the state's authority on everything you need to know about cannabis.

The April 14 issue features images of pot on the cover, back, and 10 inside pages of the 32 total in this latest edition. And many of those images are on the tons of ads they get each week from the local "Provisionaries," legal since December 2019 to dispense recreational marijuana to residents over the age of 21.

In this edition of "E&P REPORTS," Publisher Mike Blinder chats with City Pulse's Owner and Publisher Berl Schwartz and Managing Editor Kyle Kaminski about how cannabis has built an audience and needed revenue for their media company. Plus, they'll share their views on covering Michigan state politics as Governor Gretchen Whitmer gains national attention in a politically polarized country.

Lansing City Pulse: http://www.LansingCityPulse.com

Paul Glader is an award-winning journalist, who spent 10 years as a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal with bylines for numerous publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post,TheNewYorker.com, The Indianapolis Star, The Associated Press, Der Spiegel Online, FastCompany.com, USA Today and ESPN.com.

Today, Glader is an associate professor at The King's College in New York City; director of The McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute; executive director of The Media Project, a global non-profit journalism training organization; and executive editor of its award-winning, nonprofit news outlet ReligionUnplugged.com. He is also founder of Vett Incorporated, a Knight Foundation-funded start-up. Vett Inc. has built a new tool called VettNews Cx that is "reimagining how modern newsrooms handle corrections." It is now gaining a lot of traction with key industry partners including more than a dozen news organizations, Poynter.org, and the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).

In this segment of "E&P Reports," E&P publisher Mike Blinder goes one-on-one with Glader to discuss why new methods of handling consumer feedback can help us not only provide more accurate information but provide better audience loyalty.

Related Links:

Video that explains VettNews Cx: https://vimeo.com/399003124

Press Release: VettNews offers corrections management tool to RTDNA members https://www.vettnews.com/press/vettnews-offers-corrections-management-tool-to-rtdna-members

With a world permanently changed from a global pandemic, what is in store for the news publishers, and how should we best meet the challenges ahead. E&P assembled four industry leaders to offer their thoughts on:

• The value of media companies today and what will we be worth as we put COVID-19 behind us
• Are Philanthropic revenue opportunities or non-profit models a realistic way to help offset content creation costs?
• What is the future of maximizing consumer revenue for the news we produce, and can we expect it to grow in the months to come
• Should we look at partnerships with tech media like Facebook and Google or continue to fight for compensation for the news they monetize
• How do we find new talent and build critical diversity in our industry, and what priority should we place on having our newsrooms reflect the communities we serve?

In this segment of "E&P REPORTS," Publisher Mike Blinder poses these questions and more to-

Dave Chavern President and CEO at New Media Alliance

Nancy Lane CEO at Local Media Association & Local Media Foundation

Dean Ridings CEO at America's Newspapers

Tracie Powell Program Officer at Borealis Philanthropy