Merrill Brown: The News Project and Solving for the Local News Crisis

Erich Prince Having had a number of roles in journalism from being a journalist at The Washington Post to being the first editorinchief of MSNBCcom what are some key insights from these previous roles youamp8217re bringing to The News ProjectMerrill Brown Observation one Technology product development and proper use of the platform are really important when thinking about the digital world and it39s often underappreciated by people focused on news and content We want to empower editors writers and producers to do what they do bestObservation two We39re in a global information revolution A very new chapter of that is about entrepreneurship and innovation in local news and in coverage of important topicsAs you look at the world and you look at news economics and so forth one conclusion is unavoidable Revenue is challenging Smaller organizations and lower overhead are characteristics of models likelier to be successful than those featuring large organizations and big overhead It39s really important that small organizations be as smart and as nimble as their news counterparts in larger organizations if they intend to create sustainable business modelsA third thing is that although being a national news organization is important we39re also in a very niche news world That could be news about communities cities regions or states but I39m also talking about niche categories that are increasingly poorly covered by national media amp8212 whether it be housing science the environment race issues or gender issues Increasingly people who care about those issues and need to read worldclass material about those issues are going to find coverage in niches on the Internet From an entrepreneurial point of view these niches are going to drive audience traffic and revenue They39re going to help create the new civic conversation we need to have about all of these things in a new news worldPrince What do you see as the similarities and differences between working with nonprofit versus forprofit clientsBrown There are more similarities than differences In a world where there are more and more people seeking philanthropic dollars the idea that nonprofit news sites could exist without having revenue strategies now seems ridiculous Everybody needs sophisticated revenue strategies and amp8212 to a certain extent amp8212 those strategies are very similarThey are about membership subscription paywall various new content forms and native advertising What forprofits have that nonprofits donamp8217t are very aggressive amp8212 sometimes intrusive amp8212 advertising strategies You wonamp8217t see intrusive advertising on public media sites or most nonprofits You wonamp8217t see site ownership sold to somebody as many big news organizations do But increasingly whether it39s programmatic or simple banners getting the revenue component of this right is critical and the tools and capabilities are very similar whether you39re a nonprofit or forprofitPrince One of the main things we talk about in journalism right now is the amp8220decline of local journalismamp8221 Many smalltown media outlets are struggling Can you walk me through some of your recommended strategies to help local news sitesBrown We are a technology company with a SaaS business model that provides amp8212 in addition to the platform we offer amp8212 services that help people reach sustainability We39re not a consulting firm we39re not a services company per se but we help people who launch on our platform especially over time We do this in many ways ranging from revenue strategy to audience development to productTo the local entrepreneur first of all you need to look at your market and understand what the advertising opportunity actually is in that market Even in what we call amp8220news desertsamp8221 there may be relatively easy opportunities to skim some revenue from local merchants restaurateurs and others that aren39t finding Google and Facebook as effectiveThe next step is to register as many readers as you possibly can amp8212 and if it39s just an email address and not a credit card that39s a good start But you always want to try to make sure you get as close to the reader as possibleAlso have not just an opportunistic plan around all of this but rather a thoughtful plan that has you going stepbystep through this processFinally make sure your product strategy is leading towards new revenue opportunities that are right for your marketamp8217s demographics and circumstancesPrince What are the advantages of The News Project as opposed to say getting developers from Upwork a WordPress package and Google Ads and cobbling everything togetherBrown It39s onestop shopping We know exactly what we39re doing in all these fields We39re always learning and getting smarter about it but we have a very clear approach to building a news and information company properly Everything is already built You can launch quickly and you have all the tools and capabilities included in the package It39s technologically integrated and we help you with the data As we say news business in a box is a rare thingIt doesn39t exist at this level of comprehensiveness at this price point anywhere else we think in this country We want to help thousands of people to get it right The point is it39s all here and we have the team and expertiseDon39t stop now Stay in the know on news media trends with more from Erich PrinceClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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Merrill Brown: The News Project and Solving for the Local News Crisis

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Erich J. Prince

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