In August 2023, the Marion County Record, a small local newspaper in Marion, Kansas, drew national headlines when it was the target of a police raid that has been harshly criticized as an attack on the free press. In the raid, Marion County police, without just cause, seized newsroom equipment and documents from the newspaper’s office and the homes of Publisher Eric Meyer and his mother, Co-Owner Joan Meyer. In this episode of News Take: Free Press Focus, a subseries of the News Take podcast, Eric Meyer shares the story of that fateful day and the events leading up to it and why it was preventable, and Gabe Rottman, a senior attorney at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), talks to us about the dire implications for a free press when journalists’ rights are violated and the importance of a federal shield law, such as the PRESS Act, that would protect journalists’ confidential sources.

Music from #Uppbeat - https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/everlasting

Guests: Paul Gillespie, Capital Gazette and Dan Shelley, RTDNA

In this first episode of News Take: Free Press Focus, a subseries of the News Take podcast, we hear from RTDNA CEO Dan Shelley and Capital Gazette Photojournalist Paul Gillespie about the dangers that journalists face on the job and what can be done to combat the threat of violence. Gillespie is one of six survivors of the 2018 shooting at the Capital Gazette in Maryland and speaks on his experience and the importance of shielding journalists from harm. Dan Shelley speaks to RTDNA’s major priority in passing the Journalist Protection Act, a law that would make assaulting a journalist a federal crime. With extensive experience in the media industry, both Gillespie and Shelley illustrate the significance of journalists as a whole and what we, as a community, can do to support them.

Guest: Cherie Hu, Founder, Water & Music

How is the way the music industry and musicians are compensated similar to and different from the way publishers are compensated? What lessons has the music industry learned to help them better protect against unauthorized use of their content? How could web3/blockchain play a role in compensation models for the music and publishing industries? What are the potential roles AI could play in music creation and/or distribution? 

In this episode of News Take, Cherie Hu, founder of music collaboration and research firm Water & Music, joins News Take host Rebecca Frank for a fascinating discussion about how the music industry has navigated changes to the ways music is distributed and consumed. Hu draws parallels, as well as distinctions, between how musical content is protected and compensated, and those same aspects of publishing. She shares insights on how emerging technologies, including web3/blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged by content creators now and possibly down the road, and breaks down the two camps of AI users from a philosophical and business perspective. Finally, she touches on the work Water & Music is doing to bring new industry innovators together, as well as her take on trends in music innovation that translate to the publishing world.

Guest: Lisa Hughes, Publisher, The Philadelphia Inquirer

How can magazines and newspapers innovate to attract and keep subscribers in an increasingly competitive landscape? What must news and magazine publishers do to continue to keep their readers engaged over the long-term?

In this episode of News Take, Lisa Hughes, the first female Publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer, joins News/Media Alliance VP, Research & Insights, Rebecca Frank, for an insightful conversation about the evolution of magazine and newspaper media during a time of rapid change, and how she's led with innovation at top magazine and news publications to introduce successful new products and brands that have kept readers and subscribers coming back for more. Hughes talks about her very first experiences working in the magazine publishing business, and how she rose through the ranks to become a top executive at The New Yorker and Condé Nast Traveler before making the transition to Philadelphia's flagship newspaper, The Philadelphia Inquirer, where four weeks in she found herself brand new and having to adapt and respond amid a nationwide shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She shares how innovative strategies and products, including live blogs, newsletters and gamification have been successful in driving audience engagement, as well as the potential of new platforms such as TikTok for meeting audiences where they are. She also talks about the risks and opportunities that come with new technologies such as generative AI and where she sees the technology having the most potential to optimize the reader experience.

Guests: Samantha Ragland and Elite Truong, American Press Institute

What is cultural transformation, and how do publishers know if they're doing it right? How can publishers cultivate real and lasting cultural change in newsrooms? How does cultural transformation in the newsroom translate to the content produced and thereby the relationships newsrooms have with members of their communities? 

In this episode of News Take, News/Media Alliance VP, Research & Insights, Rebecca Frank sits down with Samantha Ragland, Vice President of Journalism Programs and Elite Truong, Vice President of Product Strategy, both at the American Press Institute, for a candid and fascinating conversation about the work API is doing with news publishers to help them look at their organizations with a critical eye and evolve to better reflect the communities they serve and respond to their needs. They talk about their work with newsroom leaders on DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging), promoting and fostering a sustainable news organization from the inside out, and encouraging a culture of experimentation in the newsroom. Finally, they share lessons learned from API's Table Stakes program and Inclusion Index, as well as their data centric tools for publishers, Metrics for News and Source Matters, and offer tips for how other news publishers can use data and related guidance at their own organizations to spark transformation.

Guest: Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard

What are the dangers of an open Web where anyone can be a publisher? How do misinformation sites harm reputable news publishers? How are current economic and geopolitical conditions impacting the online information ecosystem? What is a News Nutrition Label and, if consumers can't tell the difference, how are publishers of quality journalism distinguished from misinformation, hoax and pink slime news sites? How has programmatic advertising contributed to the misinformation crisis and how can advertisers ensure site integrity when buying ad space? 

In this episode of News Take, News/Media Alliance VP, Research & Insights, Rebecca Frank sits down with Gordon Crovitz, co-founder and co-CEO of NewsGuard, about how his company is working to mitigate threats from online misinformation sites, which are often indistinguishable from real news sites. Gordon explains how the online environment has enabled the rampant spread of fake news and mis- and disinformation via hoax, pink slime and other sites that publish false and potentially harmful misinformation. He then shares how publishers, consumers, advertisers and other businesses, and government agencies can improve their awareness and identification of these sites to minimize their impact. In addition, he describes how news publishers can use NewsGuard's Nutrition Labels to promote their credibility, both with readers as sources of accurate and trustworthy information, as well as with marketers as brand safe environments for their advertising.

Guest: Eric Barnes, The Daily Memphian

What are some of the things to consider when starting a local newspaper? How can you be nonprofit and still operate like a for-profit newspaper? How did you attract subscribers in a competitive market? What went better than you expected and what didn't go as well? What have you learned about finding the best revenue mix? What should someone thinking about starting a local newspaper know before they get started?

In this episode of News Take, News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with Eric Barnes, CEO of The Daily Memphian, a nonprofit local newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee, about his experience over the last four years launching a nonprofit local newspaper. Eric walks takes us from the very initial discussions and fundraising steps, to deciding whether to publish a print edition or be a purely a digital news publication, to how they decided what to charge for subscriptions and how they structure their organization to allow them to employ 40 newsroom staff (Hint: It's not on pure philanthropy!) He shares everything from how they took cues from the community to chart a practical course for advertising, fundraising, and reporting; to why they don't do sponsored content and scaled back on podcasts; to how they found a balance that is working for them. This must-listen primer on launching a nonprofit digital news publication is full of practical tips and takeaways for anyone wanting to run a news publishing business!

Guest: Rand Fishkin, SparkToro

What can publishers do to get out from under the dominant tech platforms that control the digital advertising space? How have other industries pushed back on Google's scraping of their data and coming between them and their audience? How can publishers take back control of our audience data so that we're not having to go through Google, Facebook and the other tech platforms to reach our own audience?

In this episode of News Take, News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern is joined by Rand Fishkin, cofounder and CEO of audience research software firm SparkToro, for a fascinating conversation about the big tech platforms, their algorithms, and how the Internet has evolved from a once equitable environment that was mutually beneficial, to now favoring only a handful of giant tech platforms today. Rand paints a picture of the digital marketing landscape businesses must navigate today, highlighting concerns with tech platforms’ walled gardens in which they intentionally try to keep you from leaving. He shares SparkToro's research on "zero click searches" that has gained attention from marketers worldwide on how few web searches now result in a click through to the original content. And he explains how his company helps marketers understand their audience’s behaviors and preferences without having to rely on Google and Facebook, and the importance of taking back ownership of your audience relationships and data.

Guests: Penny Muse Abernathy and Tim Franklin, the Medill Journalism School Local News Initiative at Northwestern University

What is the state of local news today? What's changed, where are there still concerns? What makes a community vulnerable to becoming a news desert? What does the future hold for the print newspaper? What are the most powerful opportunities for policy to help local news grow and thrive? What are some examples of positive outcomes and how can other news publishers emulate their success?

News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with the authors of now well-known research throughout the industry on the phenomenon known as news deserts, Penny Muse Abernathy and Tim Franklin of the Medill School of Journalism's Local News Initiative at Northwestern University. In this thought-provoking conversation, Abernathy and Franklin share the findings from their latest update to The State of Local News report, released this summer. The previous edition of report by Abernathy, released by University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media in 2020, revealed startling trends on the prevalence of news deserts, finding one-quarter of U.S. newspapers have closed since 2005. But there are reasons to be optimistic, and Abernathy and Franklin provide their thoughts on how the trend could yet be reversed. The two journalists-turned-academicians discuss innovations in digital publishing, as well as the introduction of non-advertising focused revenue models, including subscriptions and membership models, nonprofit organization structures, and other revenue models, that they say could offer a path for publishers who are living in areas that are vulnerable to becoming a news desert, as well as those who want to start a newspaper in a news desert.

Guests: Gordon Borrell, Borrell Associates

In an environment with ever-increasing advertising options, what do local advertisers want today? As everything becomes more digital, what changes are happening across media, and what are the opportunities for local news publishers to stand out? What do marketers uniquely value about local news media and how can publishers capitalize on that? 

News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern dives into these questions and more in this episode of News Take with Gordon Borrell, founder of advertising tracking firm, Borrell Associates. In this candid conversation, Borrell shares his insights on the evolving world of local advertising and what advertisers are looking for specifically from local news publishers, as well as how publishers can be more valuable by serving as advisors to advertisers how to tell their story.