Small Press, Big Ideas

Katy Temple is the executive director of the Foundation for Local News, a New Jersey nonprofit focused on student journalism. She found her way back to journalism through her community college newspaper. That led to advocacy for New Voices legislation, a political science degree from Columbia, and stints in state and federal government. Then a LinkedIn message from Mike Shapiro turned her plan to start a nonprofit into an offer to run his.

Katy explains the foundation's first workshop series, which covers personal branding, short form video, and broadcast. She also lays out the long game: pilot newsrooms in schools that don't have one, paid pathways into local outlets, and a model other states could adopt. Along the way she walks through the legal cases that shape student press rights. She also makes the case that funding student journalism means investing in democracy itself, the same way we invest in roads and schools.

Links:

Foundation for Local News

https://foundationforlocalnews.org/

on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/foundationforlocalnews/

Katy Temple - LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-temple-7b5817154/

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Amy Bushatz spent 13 years at Military.com before moving to Alaska and launching the Mat-Su Sentinel, a nonprofit, digital first newsroom she runs largely on her own.

After hearing at a public meeting that the local paper, The Frontiersman, was about to lose its public notice revenue, she closed a deal with its owners in about two weeks and took over the 80 year old Frontiersman's brand, archive, and subscribers, but not its building or printing press.

In this episode Amy talks through the messy reality of acquisition, from locked social accounts and unreliable subscriber data to boxes of unlabeled photo negatives. She also explains why she skips opinion and police blotters, how her LION Publishers award winning model rests on nine income streams, and why she approaches fundraising the way a candidate approaches an election.

Links:

Mat-Su Sentinel

https://www.matsusentinel.com/

The Frontiersman

https://www.frontiersman.com/tag/news/

Amy Bushatz - LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-bushatz/

Tiny News Collective

https://www.tinynewsco.org/

Listening Post Collective

https://listeningpostcollective.org/

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Everyone keeps declaring print dead. Megan Schertler has built an entire career proving the opposite. As cofounder and managing director of In Real Life Media, she helps publishers and brands put print magazines back at the center of their business, treating it as the anchor rather than the afterthought.

In this conversation she explains why print is now outperforming digital on trust, how COVID and AI reshaped what audiences actually believe, and why so many new magazines fold after a couple of issues. She breaks down the small but mighty model built on obsessive readers, the generational knowledge gap that leaves publishers unsure how to sell print, and the unglamorous operational decisions that quietly decide whether a title survives.

Links

In Real Life Media

https://www.inreallife.media/

Megan Schertler - LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwrays/

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Michael Kauffman never planned to build a media company. After a beverage startup that raised 250k and vanished in a single production run, a stint working for the founder of Priceline, and a string of ventures that burned him out, a long drive home from a Montana fishing trip pushed him to start a local newsletter with two rules, keep it fun and keep it rooted in community. That newsletter, Catskill Crew, now reaches around 41,000 subscribers.

In this conversation Michael breaks down how he turned a weekly newsletter into a local holding company, stacking revenue across ads, events, merch, board games, and a new premium tier. He explains why he believes content is the hard part while subscriber growth is nearly free, why he turned down a $25,000 advertiser that did not fit the brand, and how the Newsletter Club grew into a global community of local media operators.

Links:

Catskill Crew

https://catskillcrew.com/

The Newsletter Club

https://thenewsletter.club/

Michael Kauffman socials

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljkauffman/

X: https://x.com/MikeyPesto

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Julie D'Aloiso built a Northeast Ohio local news network almost by accident, and in this episode she traces the winding path that got her there.

A former COBOL programmer turned early social media adopter, she launched SpiderCat Marketing, ran an internet radio station out of her basement, and started covering her own town once the local paper went quiet. Today she and her small family team run more than twenty city Facebook pages and six news sites, reaching millions of views a month.

Our conversation gets into how she actually pulls it off: using Claude as a ghostwriter, turning long council meetings into short form video that regularly goes viral, and stitching together revenue from ads, national ad networks, and community submission tools. Julie also explains why she believes content is still king, and why AI is not always the answer.

Links:

Julie D'Aloiso - LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdaloiso/

email: [email protected]

SpiderCat Marketing

https://spidercatmarketing.com/

Nordonia Hills News

https://nordoniahills.news/

NE Ohio News

https://neohio.news/

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Sophie Culpepper covers local news for Nieman Lab, the Harvard based publication tracking how journalism is evolving in a digital age. She joins the show to map what is actually working in local media right now, from a Provincetown newsroom that ran a capital campaign to buy housing for its reporters to Chicago Public Media reimagining a donated web domain as a neighborhood social square.

The conversation digs into the business side of local news, including events as real revenue, regional scale as a survival strategy, and the state policies starting to fund newsrooms. Sophie also makes a case for staying a self described Luddite in her own writing.

Links:

Nieman Lab

https://www.niemanlab.org/

Sophie Culpepper socials

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-culpepper/

Bluesky

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Brian Kennett is the founder of Built Revenue. He argues that local publishers are sitting on the most valuable asset in their market, a trusted audience, and monetizing almost none of what it is worth.

In this conversation Brian breaks down why the platforms will never build the tools publishers actually need, how complexity and disconnected systems quietly bleed revenue, and why he leans fully into AI to fund journalism rather than fear it.

He and Paul trade real examples of publishers turning idle space into cafes, event venues, and studios, and Brian makes the case that the publishers moving fast right now are the ones who will still be standing in five years.

Links:

Built Revenue

https://www.builtrevenue.com/

Brian Kennett - LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/briankennett/

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Subscribe to the Local News Industry Pulse newsletter to receive a weekly briefing of news, policy, trends, and more in the local news industry: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://localnewsindustrypulse.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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Uriah Kiser has spent more than three decades in local media, from interviewing President Clinton as a teenage TV reporter to launching Potomac Local two years before the Virginia newspaper he grew up delivering shut its presses for good. Sixteen years later he is still covering why the cops were on your street, what the city council voted on, and which new restaurant just opened, all while running lean with a rotating crew of high school interns.

In this conversation Uriah breaks down how AI reshaped his workflow without breaking the rules of journalism, from turning hours long meeting transcripts into story ideas to profiling prospects before a sales call and translating ad analytics into plain language clients actually read.

Links:

Uriah Kiser - LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/uriah-kiser-27093a10/

Potomac Local News

https://www.potomaclocal.com/

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Brandon Mercer is the Vice President of Ad Product Integrated Solutions at Hearst, where he builds the programs that sit between editorial and advertising across the company's local newspaper properties. Brandon argues that the old firewall between the business and editorial sides is turning into a half wall, something teams should be able to see over rather than hide behind.

His clearest advice for local publishers is to pour energy into email, text messaging, and events, the channels they actually control as search traffic and zero click answers eat into website readership.

Links:

Brandon Mercer - LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mercerbrandon/

Mentioned in the episode:

Trumpia - https://www.trumpia.com/

Subtext - https://info.joinsubtext.com/

Sailthru - https://zetaglobal.com/sailthru/

Inside the Creator Economy newsletter - https://insidethecreator.beehiiv.com/

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Justin Rushing has spent more than fifteen years on the revenue side of local news. Today he is cofounder of the HBCU Digital Media Collaborative, which partners with historically Black colleges and universities to help students build campus publishing outlets and find real pathways into media careers.

In this conversation Justin traces how a single internship pulled him into a field he did not know existed, why activating students on campus sits at the heart of the Collaborative's work, and what local publishers should actually focus on in 2026. He argues that revenue is logistical before it is transactional, that publishers should monetize whichever asset is stronger, their brand or their audience, and that the consumer rather than the newsroom ultimately decides what survives.

Links:

Justin Rushing:

https://www.iamjustinrushing.com/

HBCU Collaborative

https://hbcucollaborative.org/

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This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast platform built for local media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LocalPod.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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