Billy Penn | Nieman Journalism Lab

Articles tagged Billy Penn (24)

Joshua BentonAugust 6, 2020

In the arena: Ken Doctor is moving from “media analyst” to “media CEO” with Lookout, his plan for quality local news

Lookout doesn’t want its local news sites to be a supplement or alternative to the local daily. They aim to be the news source of record in their communities, outgunning their shrunken newsprint rivals from Day 1.

Ken DoctorApril 18, 2019

Newsonomics: The newspaper industry is thirsty for liquidity as it tries to merge its way out of trouble

Newspaper company CEOs will be the first to tell you a new round of consolidation won’t solve their problems. But it might give them another year or two of breathing room.

Christine SchmidtMarch 6, 2019

Spirited Media is selling off its local sites and pivoting to consulting

“You’re going to have micro-community sites with 72 lost-dog stories a day and [you’ll have] investigative reporting — but most of the things between those are going to struggle if we can’t figure out the model.”

Christine SchmidtSeptember 19, 2018

How the Broke in Philly collaboration is focusing local media’s attention on poverty and economic mobility

“As journalists, we’re taught to be competitive and territorial. On the other hand, things are changing dramatically, so don’t assume other people in your local market don’t want to collaborate.”

Shan WangAugust 28, 2018

Billy Penn, Denverite, and The Incline are all going after members. Can they become predominantly reader-supported?

The three sites together are “just south of 1,500 paying customers,” 60 percent of whom are signed up as recurring contributors (of these, the average annual contribution is around $115 or $120). Denverite, which launched its program first, has around 900 members.

Post-layoffs, Spirited Media is exploring memberships and consulting (and killing off its direct-sold display ads)

How The New York Times, CNN, and The Huffington Post approach publishing on platforms

Ken DoctorMarch 8, 2017

Newsonomics: With a cross-country merger, Spirited Media aims to build a nationwide digital local news chain

After combining with Denverite, the company behind Billy Penn and The Incline hopes to prove its events-heavy model can work in a dozen or more cities.

Ken DoctorMarch 8, 2017

Jim Brady: Events and experiences are key to connecting younger audiences to local news

“You have an event that goes really well. You send 175 ambassadors out of your event thinking it was awesome, saying ‘I love Billy Penn’s events.’ And on top of that, you make money doing it.”

The Raleigh Agenda is shutting down

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