In January 2021, the Google News Initiative, in partnership with the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN), the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), kicked off the GNI Ad Transformation Lab: A six month program to help Black and Latino news publishers in the U.S. and Canada advance their advertising strategies and grow digital revenue. Twenty-eight different organizations participated in the program. Over the six-month period, each publisher received coaching to address their organization’s path for business growth, including improving digital publishing tools and advertising capabilities and developing new digital skill sets. Participating publishers were advised on better methods for digital content distribution, better optimization tactics, how to maximize their digital advertising and programmatic capabilities, and most importantly, how to act on these improvements to attract more advertisers and generate incremental revenue streams. The participating publications of the GNI Ad Transformation Lab include: Afro-American Newspapers, Al Día en América, Blavity News, The Cincinnati Herald, The Dallas Examiner, El Latino, The Houston Defender, Houston Forward Times, Impacto Latino, La Mega Media Cleveland, La Noticia, La Opinion, The Los Angeles Sentinel, Michigan Chronicle, The Mississippi Link, Noti Bomba, Post News Group, Our Weekly Los Angeles Newspaper, The Philadelphia Tribune, Precinct Reporter, Prensa Arizona, QCity Metro, The Sacramento Observer, The Seattle Medium, Texas Metro News, The Tri-State Defender, Vida Newspaper and Westchester Hispano. On June 22, 2021, E&P Publisher Mike Blinder hosted a panel discussion about the GNI Ad Transformation Lab at the Association of Alternative Newsmedia annual conference: 2021 BostAAN at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. This Episode of “E&P Reports” is a recording of that live panel discussion about the program’s work to help Black and Latino news publishers advance their advertising strategies and grow digital revenue.   Panelists include: John Heaston, Publisher, Pioneer Publishing, Vice President of AAN, and a board alternate of the National Association of Hispanic Publications. Todd Stauffer, Publisher , Jackson (MS) Free Press and Digital Specialist for the AAN GNI Ad Transformation Lab.  Alvaro Gurdián, VP of Operations, La Noticia, Vice President of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Hispanic Publications. Treasurer of Local Independent Online News (LION).  Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis President/ CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA): The Black Press of America.  Board member of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO). Dana Peck Director of Digital Solutions, AFRO American Newspaper. Brian Taylor VP Publishing, Mega Media, Inc.

Editor and Publisher Reports

95 The GNI Ad Transformation Lab: Helping Black and Latino News Publishers Grow Digital Revenue.

If you have been involved in any form of production and operations over the past three decades, odds are you have spoken with the Southern Lithoplate's (SLP) Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Steve Mattingly. Mattingly joined SLP in 1989 and helped this small, privately-held North Carolina lithoplate manufacturer become one of the leading consumables suppliers to North American printers and one of the top five largest manufacturers in the world. During those 30-plus years, Mattingly has been a voice for the operations sector as a board member of the international newspaper group as well as a frequent speaker at many industry conferences. In this episode of "E&P Reports," Publisher Mike Blinder goes one-on-one with Mattingly to gain his insight into the future of the still vital production / operations sector of the news publishing business. Topics include how the industry consolidation will affect bottom lines and what the future is for print as a profitable platform for news content.

94 Steve Mattingly Speaks on the Future of Print

  Hearst Connecticut Media Group (HCMG) has made a big investment in a new online platform offering statewide news called: CTinsider.com. The new site provides a mix of original content and articles selected from across all 24 HCMG sites, offering hard news, features, sports and opinion columns. The articles CTinsider.com are chosen by a central editorial team working with editors from each site who also suggest what content should go statewide. The new site will likely augment the growing reader revenue being achieved by the entire group which now boasts more than 1,000 percent growth in its digital subscriptions since September 2019. Print and digital subscriptions have also increased by 18 percent during the same time period. In this episode of “E & P Reports,” Publisher Mike Blinder chats with Group Publisher & President, Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Mike DeLuca along with VP of Content &, Editor-in-Chief Wendy Metcalfe about the new website along with what it took to realize such strong print and digital subscription growth. Related Links: CTinsider.com Recent Article Posted “Policing the Police Investigation” CT Post premium version: https://www.ctpost.com/projects/2021/police-misconduct/ CTinsider.com posts on same article: https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/CT-s-secretive-police-disciplinary-system-16266189.php https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Four-key-takeaways-from-Hearst-CT-s-16273587.php

93 Hearst CT Media: +1000% Growth in Digital Subscribers & Now Going Statewide

Ryan Dohrn is a well-known industry sales coach who has traveled far and wide helping media companies of all sizes perform better (and he writes our monthly Ad Sales Life column). On his website, it states, “Ryan actively sells print, digital, broadcast, event sponsorships, exhibit space, and radio.” On his Twitter account, his description reads: Ryan Dohrn is a “motivational speaker, 28-year sales and marketing strategist.” And on the top of his LinkedIn page, there are just six words: “Sales Strategist – Keynote Speaker – Emmy Winner.” There is no question that when you watch Dohrn speak, there is always a true transference of positive energy emitting from him In this episode of “E&P Reports” publisher Mike Blinder chats with Dohrn about how ad sellers should adapt to a post-pandemic world. Dohrn offers actionable advice on how we can find, recruit, and keep sales talent. What are our best target business categories to prospect? How do we interact properly in a new Zoom world and use it to your advantage with potential and existing advertisers? There’s a lot of usable content packed into this “E&P Reports” where two industry sales veterans take a deep dive into the best practices to adopt in ad sales strategies.

92 Selling on the Backside of COVID

Juneteenth is widely considered the final “nail in the coffin” of slavery in the U.S. The New York Times reported that the first written reference of the term occurred in the Galveston (Texas) Daily News. Owned by Southern Newspapers, the masthead proudly states it is the oldest newspaper in Texas, published since 1842. Even the original announcement of General Granger’s words freeing the slaves was recorded on the pages of the Daily News.   Daily News publisher Leonard Woolsey states that their company has been “pushing lawmakers, editorializing, and promoting Juneteenth’s accent for as long as anyone can recall.” They even published a special 150-year magazine a few years back and have worked with local community members, as well staff members, to lend their voices to help move the important day to the national spotlight.   In this episode of “E&P Reports,” publisher Mike Blinder chats with Woolsey and the Daily News’ editor Michael Smith about what it was like to report locally in a city that quickly gained worldwide prominence. How is the paper integrating into the community? And what steps will they take to continue to provide a voice for all Galveston residents? Related links: Galveston Daily News: https://www.galvnews.com Galveston News “Juneteenth Magazine:” https://resources.galvnews.com/sections/juneteenth150/#page=8

91 Reporting in Galveston as Juneteenth Achieves Global Prominence

According to Google, the word “unpublish” is defined as a verb that means “to make content that has previously been published online unavailable to the public. As in ‘The magazine first amended and then unpublished the article.” Years ago, publishers did not face problems of information permanence when a daily printed product was quickly discarded the next day. But more and more news publishers today are receiving requests from individuals to remove, obscure or significantly alter once-accurate information published about them in the past. In some cases, these requests are happening many years after a story was initially published online. A recent survey also suggests that more than 80 percent of North American news publishers believe all news organizations should follow a set of standard guidelines about what information can and cannot be removed from their archives. But are such standards being compiled? Exploring this issue is Deborah Dwyer, PHD candidate UNC Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and Media who is working on a current initiative to create a single repository of newsroom unpublishing policies. Her latest project is a Website: unpublishingthenews.com, described as “a place on the web where news leaders and advocates can hash out the conundrum of “unpublishing” (in its broader context).”  Here any editor or journalism can find a blog centering on the issue, along with resources that provides a growing list of policies and best practices, research, codes of ethics and more. In this segment of “E&P Reports,” publisher Mike Blinder speaks with Dwyer about her research and work on compiling best practices of “unpublishing” the news. Also appearing is one of the initiative’s advisors Kathy English, chair of the Canadian Journalism Foundation.  

90 ‘Unpublishing’ Our News Content

Please Follow this Podcast Series What do two millennial media execs from New York City do when they move to Texas? They buy a small market weekly newspaper and transform it into the center of the community. And how do they do this? By purchasing and renovating a building to house not only the newspaper’s office but a restaurant/ bar/ coffee shop and banquet center called The Sentinel. In this segment of “E&P Reports” Publisher Mike Blinder interviews Max Kabat the co-founder of a New York City-based brand consultancy firm, who along with his Emmy Award-winning, documentary filmmaker wife, Maisie Crow, purchased The Big Bend Sentinel, a weekly newspaper in Marfa, Texas. After purchasing the newspaper just two years ago, they are funding a vibrant newsroom and building their audience up with out-of-the-box thinking that not only creates revenue but connects their publication with the community. Watch This Episode on YouTube:https://youtu.be/xz3AZ5hSCwU Related links: Big Bend Sentinel: https://bigbendsentinel.com The Sentinel (Restaurant/ Bar) Website: https://www.thesentinelmarfa.com  

89 Serving Lattes & Brews Funds The Sentinel Newsroom!

For 15 years, Ken Doctor has been preaching innovative news publishing business models through Newsonomics, his own company and website. Six months ago, he started his experiment Lookout Local, which launched with Lookout Santa Cruz, the company’s first site based in Santa Cruz County, Calif. Doctor’s intention with the site is to show the industry his vision on what is needed to be the local news leader this decade. Today he boasts over 12,000+ email followers and just under 1,000 paid website subscribers after just three months of putting his content behind a paywall. Lookout Local was started with $2.5-million dollars donated by the Knight Foundation, Google News Innovation Challenge, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, and various other foundations. One of his news publishing competitors is Dan Pulcrano, CEO of Metro Newspapers and owner of Good Times a free-circulation weekly newspaper based in Santa Cruz. Pulcrano recently penned an editorial claiming that the $2.5 million Doctor raised was partly due to his shopping a false narrative that Santa Cruz is a ‘news desert,’ a community without reporting, one that’s uninformed and parched for news—it is anything but. For decades.”  In this episode of Editor & Publisher’s Vodcast: “E&P Reports,” publisher Mike Blinder checks in with Doctor and Jed Williams, founding chief revenue officer at Lookout Local, on how their business model is doing after launching during a pandemic. Related Links:  Lookout Local Santa Cruz Website: https://lookout.co/santacruz/ Ken Doctor’s Email message on Lookout Local’s 6-month anniversary: https://lookout.co/santacruz/business-technology/local-business/story/2021-05-25/six-months-in-we-at-lookout-thank-you Dan Pulcrano's Editorial: "Lookout Local: Ken Doctor’s False Narrative About Santa Cruz:" https://goodtimes.sc/santa-cruz-news/lookout-local-ken-doctor-false-narrative/

89 E&P checks in with Ken Doctor, CEO and founder of Lookout Local, a startup that offers a new local news model.

What do two millennial media execs from New York City do when they move to Texas? They buy a small market weekly newspaper and transform it into the center of the community. And how do they do this? By purchasing and renovating a building to house not only the newspaper’s office but a restaurant/ bar/ coffee shop and banquet center called The Sentinel. In this segment of “E&P Reports” Publisher Mike Blinder interviews Max Kabat the co-founder of a New York City-based brand consultancy firm, who along with his Emmy Award-winning, documentary filmmaker wife, Maisie Crow, purchased The Big Bend Sentinel, a weekly newspaper in Marfa, Texas. After purchasing the newspaper just two years ago, they are funding a vibrant newsroom and building their audience up with out-of-the-box thinking that not only creates revenue but connects their publication with the community. Related links: Big Bend Sentinel: https://bigbendsentinel.com The Sentinel (Restaurant) Website: https://www.thesentinelmarfa.com  

88 Serving Lattes & Brews Funds The Sentinel Newsroom!

This is  2-minute "trailer" from "E&P" Reports episode #76 "Gordon Borrell is (Finally) Bullish on Newspapers.

0 Gordon Borrell -2-minute Trailer

In the June 2021 Editor and Publisher cover story, editor-in-chief Nu Yang takes an in-depth look at how a number of Minneapolis journalists covered the events from George Floyd’s death to the conviction of the police officer deemed responsible. In this edition of E&P’s Vodcast series “E&P Reports,” publisher Mike Blinder has a frank discussion with the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s editorial management on what it was like to run a newsroom remotely, while covering one of the biggest stories of our time. Moreover, with all the global attention focused on their city, was it hard to hold to journalistic standards of balance of fairness in each story filed? Plus, with reporters receiving death threats and being shot at with rubber bullets, how did they maintain safety for each team member in the field? As they reflect a year later, how did the incidents and issues effect the Star Tribune’s own feelings and policies on diversity and inclusion? Learn what it was like to manage a newsroom through crises with Star Tribune editor and senior vice president Rene Sanchez, managing editor and vice president Suki Dardarian, and newly appointed managing editor for diversity and community Kyndell Harkness. Related Links: E&P June 2021 Cover Story "How Minnesota Journalists Covered a Year of Crisis: https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/how-minnesota-journalists-covered-a-year-of-crisis,194200?  

87 Covering George Floyd’s Death Transforms a Newsroom

For years, many media companies used remnant inventory as reciprocal trade in order to receive in-kind goods and services, such as prizes or meals. But what if there were new start-up companies willing to give you equity in their business in exchange for being able to market to your readers and viewers? That opportunity is now available from a new venture capital firm called Arrandale Ventures. Founded by two industry veterans, Zach Richner (Richner Communications) and Jeremy Mims (Spoken Layer/OwnLocal), Arrandale Ventures’ job is to seek out growing B2C and B2B startups that serve local residents, businesses, and governments, and match them with marketing services across a national footprint of local media. Today, they have hundreds of media companies onboard who are gaining equity in exchange for the advertising services they provide. In this segment of “E&P Reports,” publisher Mike Blinder chats with Richner and Mims about how their new venture capital firm works, and what the benefits and risks are for a media company to participate. Related LinksArrandale Ventures Website: https://arrandaleventures.com/  

86 Swap Your Ads for Shares in Start-Ups

Raymond Alcide Joseph is arguably one of the most remarkable news publishers in our industry today. In 1971, while working as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, he founded, with his brother Léo, the Haiti Observateur, a weekly newspaper and 24/7 website that publishes in four languages (Haitian Creole, French, and English). Today, it remains the free voice of the Haitian people.   For five years, Joseph served as Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., and during the massive 2010 earthquake, he was essentially the functioning government since the capitol, Port au Prince, was substantially damaged, and the country's elected leadership could not be reached. Joseph is credited by The American Bible Society as the original translator of the New Testament with the Psalms from original languages and French to Haitian Creole. His autobiographical book, "For Whom the Dogs Spy," reveals Joseph’s insider’s account—having served under four presidents—of Haiti’s struggle to build a democracy during the tyrannical reign of dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, who used the legend of voodoo to bewitch the country into fearing him.  In this segment of “E&P Reports,” publisher Mike Blinder goes one-on-one with Joseph on topics that range from the start of his newspaper and how he influenced change during a cruel dictatorship to his opinions on the importance of a free press, not just in Haiti but here in the U.S. as well. Related Links: More information about Ambassador Raymond Alcide Joseph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Joseph Haïti Observateur Website: http://www.haiti-observateur.ca Ambassador Joseph’s Autobiography, “For Whom the Dogs Spy:” https://www.amazon.com/Whom-Dogs-Spy-Dictatorships-Earthquake-ebook/dp/B00R3L7692/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=For+Whom+the+Dogs+Spy%2C&qid=1621338011&sr=8-3    

85 At 89, Raymond Joseph is Still Publishing and Fighting for the Haitian People

Alec Johnson is the fourth generation to manage Johnson Newspaper Corporation, owners of the Watertown Daily Times, a newspaper serving New York's North Country region since 1861. Today the Johnson family's media company has five daily publications, several weeklies, and magazines. They have a solid commitment to multimedia with a company-wide website, NNY360.com, that serves the entire region with news and classifieds. In 2019, Johnson made the difficult decision to shutter the Ogdensburg Journal, one their publications that dated back to 1858, serving a city of 10,000+ residents along the St. Lawrence River. However, starting in June, the paper will begin to print again. In this segment of ‘E&P REPORTS' Publisher Mike Blinder discusses with President & COO Alec Johnson why the company decided to bring back the Journal and their strong commitment to printing a quality product in a growing digital world. Johnson Newspaper’s Webiste NNY 360: https://www.nny360.com

84 Johnson Brings Back a City's Newspaper

The staff behind Editor and Publisher magazine, since 1884, THE authoritative voice of #NewsPublishing, bring the magazine to life each week with the latest headlines from Editor-in-Chief Nu Yang and host Bob Andelman interviews a news industry influencer. Also available as a video on YouTube.

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Editor and Publisher Reports

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