Skewes succeeds Gray as publisher of Baytown Sun
Janie Gray has retired as publisher of the Baytown (Texas) Sun after nearly four decades of newspaper work.
Sun advertising director Carol Skewes succeeded Gray as publisher.
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Farewell blog post: Some parting words about what our industry needs to do
This may be my final blog post, for reasons I explain in its opening paragraphs.
So I'm using this last opportunity to sum up the huge challenge that faces newspaper companies – and the things I believe could possibly turn the tide from ongoing decline to growth.
It's a very tall order – but with the right leadership and commitment of resources, perhaps it could be done.
MORENew company acquires Oklahoma dailies
A newly formed media group with Oklahoma ties has purchased three newspapers in the southern part of the state from Civitas Media.
MOREFamily ownership: unique problems and solutions
Family ownership of a media company or any other kind of company can be a beautiful thing. But it has its own unique challenges and solutions.
These are rarely discussed in the open, either inside the company or at industry conferences. But there's a whole world of solutions and best practices available for family owners, if you know where to find them.
If you're a member of an owning family, or if you work for a family-owned company, Steve Gray's latest blog post may help you see where to look.
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Les Simpson elected president of SNPA for 2017-18
Les Simpson nominated as president of SNPA for 2017-18
SNPA members will elect officers for 2017-18 on Monday afternoon, Sept. 11, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Read this article to see who has been nominated to the SNPA Board of Directors.
In Jacksonville, a new business model for the local editorial voice
Can a strong editorial voice become the center of a new local business model?
Yes, it can.
It's happening right now in Jacksonville, Fla., where Mark Nusbaum, publisher of The Florida Times-Union, has launched a new magazine with the mission of reviving the flagging downtown.
This is local advocacy journalism of a high order – an extension of The Times-Union's editorial page. And Mark and company have crafted a unique business model around it by recruiting 20 leaders of key institutions as premier partners/sponsors in support of the crusade.
Read this article for the details.
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In the political fray, don't guess at motives - debate the facts
In the superheated political atmosphere that surrounds us, a basic lesson in journalism that I learned as a young editorial writer could help the media cool things down.
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Why the bitter U.S. political divide? Blame the digital information explosion
My son asked me some tough questions recently:
"Do you share this sense that, increasingly, there are two bubbles in America, and that neither has much real interest in learning about the other's perspective? Or maybe that doing so is actually approaching impossibility because of the fact that we're geographically and socially and economically so separated?
"And if so ... is there anything we can do about it?"
In my latest blog post, I did my best to answer him.
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A 'Big-J' journalism project for resource-strapped newsrooms
In this moth's Media Reset blog, Steve Gray suggests a project that will make an impact in any community -- and it doesn't take a roomful of Big-J journalists to do it.
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Post’s Arc unveils subscriptions platform, video app
Publishers in search of a new subscriptions platform or video app have new options from The Washington Post.
The Post's Arc Publishing is now offering Arc Subscriptions, a commerce platform that "equips publishers, broadcasters, and brands with real-time capabilities designed to accelerate digital monetization and grow revenue," according to the Post.
MoreTighten up that paywall! (And some other lessons from a study of 500 newspaper publishers)
When The New York Times first launched its paywall back in 2011, it offered readers 20 free stories a month. A little over eight years later, that figure seems crazy generous — today you can read just five free Times stories a month before being asked to pay — and where the Times goes, so will other papers go: New research suggests that most newspaper publishers with successful metered pay model strategies do better with higher “stop rates,” not letting a reader sample too much before they’re asked to pay up.
Read more from NiemanLab.
MoreWho works best in a revenue development role? Here’s what these local news organizations have found
Folks, it happened: The key to sustainable local news has been discovered. And it involves making money.
Spoiler alert: It's all about making money, and that takes having people whose job descriptions are specifically devoted to that task – along with tying the money-generating to the journalistic mission. And okay, maybe they haven't found the key: "No organization we spoke to claimed to have found the solution to revenue generation, but each had useful lessons for other civic news organizations at different levels of maturity."
Read more from NiemanLab.
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