WordPress Parent Company Automattic Highlights How Newspack Is Driving Local Media Success PLUS Research Shows Facebook Is a Poor Place to Share Local News

October 14, 2021

Newspack founder and head Kinsey Wilson talks about how the WordPress-powered tech stack is helping to bring subscription and revenue tools to smaller local news organisations. I've worked in a wide range of projects that have leveraged WordPress and its ecosystem. I am really happy that WordPress is working in this space.

Nieman Lab flagged up some research that definitely chimes with what a lot of local sites seem to have seen during the recent Facebook outage that the social network might not be a good place to share local news.

Plus, a couple of bits of interesting news in the newsletter space yesterday. Axios has launched a membership programme for some of its local newsletters, and the Telegraph is finding that less is more with newsletters. The UK title is looking to trim its stable of 40 newsletters.

Some advice for journalists looking to shift to PR. Research into whether better news coverage increases voter engagement. And in Australia, applications are now open for the Facebook-funded A$15m news fund.

Rounding it out for today, there are a couple of pieces looking at the stresses - mentally, physically and financially - on young journalists in the US. #Vanlife may be cool, but not if you're forced to live in a van because your journalism wage doesn't pay for housing where you live. I remember well the poverty wages that I made in my first reporting job, and in the US, for me, that meant that while I had health insurance, I couldn't afford the co-pays to go see the doctor so I simply didn't.

There may never be a Holy Grail, but the varied building blocks of a successful strategy can be found and rolled out widely across the industry.

"There’s a lot of hesitancy about becoming overly reliant on companies that have their own interests, ultimately, and they’re not always aligned [with news companies' interests]."

Axios has launched a membership program for some of its local newsletters. The suggested contributions, listed on new city-specific sites, range from $50 to $500 per year.

Those who join will get "quarterly exclusive newsletters" and Axios "may host members-only events and give bi…

The Telegraph produces over 40 editorial newsletters, eight of which are exclusive to subscribers, which they think will grow subscriptions.

Meaningful participation in civic life isn’t possible without access to high-quality news and information. Consider the most fundamental aspect of community engagement: voting in local elections. If prospective voters lack …

Life circumstances and priorities change. Do not let preconceived ideas put you off a potentially rewarding career in public relations

Applications have opened for Facebook’s A$15 million Australian News Fund as the social media giant pledges to invest in public interest journalism.Facebook, which last month told several Australian publishers, including SBS, that it has stopped negotiating licensing deals, said the fund will also support small, regional and digital newsroom innovation and economic sustainability.The $15 million, […]

From “grateful to be here” to “no thanks.”

Industry wages leave limited options for financial freedom.