Collaborations and primary elections boosted traffic to public media sites this quarter
▪ “If I have any takeaway, it’s really just the importance of headlines that answer the question, ‘Why does this matter? Why should I care?'”
How three newsrooms are charting different paths for AI use
▪ In our recent research, we examined how three different media outlets — Reuters, the BBC, and The Guardian — were deploying AI in their workflows.
Despite concerns about AI Overviews, some nonprofit news outlets see a surge in search traffic
▪ “We found this heartening, in a time when many experts are writing eulogies for clickthrough from search engine results pages.”
It’s been a year since Congress cut off federal funding for public media. How are things going? ➚
Tacos, elk sheds, and Facebook ads: How some local news sites saw their traffic spike
▪ Big gainers included L.A. Taco, The TRiiBE, and Buckrail. Here’s our quarterly ranking of the top 25 local for-profit news sites in the United States.
LGBTQ+ outlet LOOKOUT aims to expand throughout the Southwest, and beyond
▪ “I’m stealing everything I learned from my time at Vice and from little raggedy zines in the punk rock world.”
“This price was set by an algorithm”: News subscribers are surprised by a new line in their renewal emails
▪ Outlets like Wired, NJ.com, and The Wall Street Journal are setting renewal prices just for you — and being forced to disclose it.
Search traffic has declined so much that some publishers are considering opting out of Google entirely ➚
How America’s newspapers lost their voice
▪ The long history of newspaper editorials may be about to end, a casualty of both changing news values and economic pressure.
With its third issue, audio magazine Signal Hill is transmitting further than ever
▪ “We knew it was kind of breaking the rules of what you’re supposed to do to make a show that is profitable.”
The World Cup of misinformation
▪ Misinformation doesn’t just sow distrust between the public and the media. It robs us of the ability to trust what we see with our own eyes.
Mobilizer, connector, spectator, or outsider? New Pew research categorizes how Americans do (or don’t) engage civically ➚
Want to build audience and revenue through live events? These five news nonprofits have some ideas to get you started
▪ A community run? A block party? A trivia night? There are options for newsrooms of all stripes and sizes.
Business Insider’s big bet against aggregation
▪ Facing repeated layoffs and traffic declines, Business Insider turns its back on the aggregation business it pioneered.
One name at a time: How Die Zeit built a searchable database of Nazi Party members
▪ “The story that a German newspaper used AI to create a ‘Nazi search engine’ is just too good to ignore.”
In Ethiopia, fact-checking can be a matter of life and death
▪ Fact-checkers at HaqCheck tackle potentially deadly misinformation amid political and infrastructural challenges.
Capital B is ready to open a third local news operation — about two hours east of its first one ➚
Local news went all in on the World Cup. Here’s what worked.
▪ From sticker swaps in Boston to interactive guides in L.A., news outlets are using the tournament to test new ways of reaching audiences.
This app turns the web into a scrollable feed (just don’t call it RSS) ➚
The New York Times will launch a local newsletter pilot in the Twin Cities next month ➚