How 'user needs' can help newsrooms make better choices PLUS new revenue stream ideas for small local newspapers

July 19, 2022

When I was an editor and editorial leader and executive, the challenge over much the past decade has been making the best use of my teams' time. And with the pressure on resources (euphemism for job cuts), there came a point when "doing more with less" wasn't a viable option. We needed to decide where to focus our time and energy. FT Strategies has an excellent summary of something that former BBC leader and now consultant Dmitry Shishkin developed while he was the Beeb - the concept of user needs. It's an absolutely brilliant product framework that keeps the focus on not only what users need but also why they want news. Contrary to our professional motivations as journalists, audiences are not solely motivated to be informed. In fact, these days, they might be tuning out because they are overwhelmed with information, much of it negative. It's a great thought-provoking piece.

I was a regional executive editor for Gannett in Wisconsin, and there is a part of me that still has a passion for local journalism. And, my first job was in western Kansas, at the tiny but mighty Hays Daily News so it caught my eye that the University of Kansas is working with local, rural newspapers there to develop new revenue streams. These include events (including a Blues festival in Newton, Kansas), a paid membership "press club" and other ways that the papers can earn money beyond subscriptions. I love experimentation like this, and I love the academic-private collaboration.

One last highlight - the New European, a Pugpig customer, smashed through its fundraising share issue. They raised the money so that they could launch a marketing campaign to increase awareness of their product.

Plus:

  • The ad economy has declined for the first time in 16 months.

  • A guide for journalists on how to use Twitter Spaces.

  • A guide to improving video engagement rates by video editors.

  • How small newsrooms can benefit from AI.

  • Google admits that it had indexing issues.

  • India looks to follow other countries in forcing Google and Facebook to compensate publishers.

  • How product teams converge on an idea.

We use

cookies

for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and

secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media

features and to analyse how our Sites are used.

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

Small weekly and rural newspapers were already struggling before the pandemic. Many had to close family-operated, decades-old publications, creating news deserts. Once the pandemic hit, more of these newspapers closed — just when residents needed important information about how local government and community organizations were responding to the pandemic. Addressing this crisis and finding a solution have come from what some might consider an unlikely source — academia.

The Expansion Is Over: Ad Economy Recedes For First Time In 16 Months - 07/19/2022

Twitter’s new Spaces feature allows journalists to build a close connection with their audiences while expanding stories coverage. In a guest post for OJB, Catalunya Ràdio's Carla Pedret shares her tips for using the platform. Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash Newsrooms face the dilemma of adapting to new platforms so often that it has its…

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

Artificial Intelligence technologies such as automation are already having an impact on journalism, especially in large news organisations with the resources to acquire and adapt the data and softw…

Google Confirms Content Indexing Issues In Search - 07/18/2022

The Indian government is looking to make tech companies like Google to pay Indian news publishers for using their original content.

Is it possible to track, and in the future, guide, a design team's activities by analyzing their digital communication? That was the question I attempted to answer in the first publication of my PhD…