Brant Houston talks about his new book, which chronicles two decades of disruption
On our latest podcast, Ellen and Dan talk with Brant Houston, who is hard to describe in one sentence: he’s an author, an educator, an investigative journalist, an expert in data-based reporting, and a co-founder of the Global Investigative Journalism Network and the Institute for Nonprofit News. Brant holds the John S. and James L. Knight…
Something for the kitchen table: Why print still makes sense for some local news startups
By Dan Kennedy Residents looking to start news organizations in their communities usually look to digital first. Even at the local level, advertising revenues are not what they used to be, and the cost of offering a print newspaper — both in terms of money and complexity — often isn’t worth it. Yet the traditional…
How the for-profit/nonprofit model is bolstering coverage at The Berkshire Eagle
By Dan Kennedy One of the more interesting business models for local news that Ellen Clegg and I have encountered in our work is what you might call the hybrid for-profit/nonprofit. For-profit organizations such as The Mendocino Voice in Northern California, The Colorado Sun, the Storm Lake Times Pilot in Iowa and The Provincetown Independent…
A new report finds that content farms are loading up on AI. Will local news be next?
By Dan Kennedy A recent report by NewsGuard, a project that evaluates news organizations for reliability and transparency, found that clickbait generated by artificial intelligence is on the rise. McKenzie Sadeghi and Lorenzo Arvanitis write: NewsGuard has identified 49 news and information sites that appear to be almost entirely written by artificial intelligence software. A…
Pioneering digital publisher Howard Owens tells us about a new idea for raising revenues
On our new podcast, Dan and Ellen talk with Howard Owens, the publisher of The Batavian, a digital news organization in Genesee County, New York, way out near Buffalo. When Dan first met Howard, he was the director of digital publishing for GateHouse Media, which later morphed into Gannett. Howard launched The Batavian for GateHouse in…
Harnessed properly, AI could prove to be a boon for the future of local news
By Sebastian Grace There’s no need to panic about AI in journalism. ChatGPT told me so. When I asked OpenAI’s language model whether artificial intelligence will replace journalists in the future, the answer went something like this: It’s unlikely because of humans’ “unique set of skills,” including “critical thinking” and the ability to “conduct interviews.”…
At The Batavian, an innovative paywall gives subscribers a four-hour head start
By Dan Kennedy Now, here’s an interesting idea. The Batavian, a for-profit digital news outlet located in Genesee County, in western New York, has begun charging readers who want to see stories as soon as they’re posted. Others have to wait four hours. In a press release posted by the trade publication Editor & Publisher,…
Lara Salahi tells us how student journalists can help ease the local news crisis
On the latest “What Works” podcast, Dan talks with Lara Salahi, an associate professor of journalism at Endicott College, where she teaches a range of courses, from feature writing to digital journalism. She has also been a digital producer for NBC Universal and a field producer for ABC News. The main topic of their conversation…
A family-owned newspaper in Pennsylvania will be donated to a public broadcaster
By Dan Kennedy Some very good news on the community journalism front: The family who owns the daily newspaper LNP of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is donating it to the local public broadcasting outlet. WITF will acquire LNP, Lancaster Online and several other media properties, known collectively as LNP Media. LNP reporter Chad Umble writes: The Steinman…
Two celebrated hyperlocals in N.J. will merge; plus, a 2009 visit with Baristanet’s founder
By Dan Kennedy If you felt some distant rumblings coming from the general direction of New Jersey a few days ago, I’m here to tell you why. A pioneering local blog in that state, Baristanet, will merge with a six-year-old community news organization, Montclair Local. Liz George, the editor and publisher of Baristanet, will served…
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