Local Media HQ

Tad Moore runs NWA Daily, a 41,500-subscriber local newsletter in Northwest Arkansas with a 54% open rate and 7% click-through. What started as a content writing gig in 2020 evolved into Director of Operations and eventually Strategic Advisor as they expanded beyond the newsletter into real estate and consulting. Most growth came organically through social media, collaborations, and giveaways rath...

Book a demo at lightbreak.ai to see our newsletter software in action! Shane Brady joins TJ Larkin to discuss the current state of local newsletters and media businesses. Shane operates multiple newsletters with approximately 32,000 total subscribers, with his largest newsletter reaching 12,000 subscribers. They cover the surprising interest from legacy media companies looking to acquire newslette...

Keith Pepper, owner of Rough Draft Atlanta, shares how he acquired a legacy print media company during the height of the pandemic and transformed it into a profitable, digital-first local media brand. The conversation explores the realities of owning and operating a modern community news business. Keith explains why print still represents more than 70 percent of Rough Draft’s revenue, how saturati...

Social media has become the fastest and most effective way to build a local media brand, and Jacob Espinoza is proving it. In this episode, TJ Larkin and Jacob walk through how creators are replacing newspapers and local TV by delivering timely, trusted information directly on Instagram. Jacob shares lessons from growing What’s Happening Salem to tens of thousands of followers, including the conte...

Amy Vartenuk joins the podcast to share how she’s building Clevelandish, a modern local newsletter focused on connection, positivity, and personality. Funded by a local business owner but operated independently, Clevelandish offers a unique hybrid model for local media entrepreneurs. Amy explains how polling readers, encouraging replies, and leaning into her own perspective helped differentiate Cl...

Why do legacy media companies earn more ad revenue even when local newsletters often have higher engagement? In this conversation, Justin Moore explains the disconnect and outlines how modern local media operators can position themselves as high-value partners to advertisers. Topics include how to pitch sponsorships without racing to the bottom on price, why Instagram and video content carry outsi...

Dan Oshinsky joins TJ Larkin to unpack what it really takes to build a sustainable newsletter business in 2025 and beyond. With over a decade of experience leading newsletter strategy at major media companies, Dan explains why newsletters are still early and where the biggest opportunities exist today. The discussion covers niche selection, local newsletters, audience trust, and how creators can c...

Matt Moody breaks down how he built Salina 311 into a “community intelligence platform,” reaching over 30,000 members in a town of about 60,000, and generating north of $500,000 in annual revenue.  Instead of treating it as “just a newsletter,” Matt explains how multiple distribution channels (email, web, Facebook, SMS) and heavy automation shaped the growth engine, plus why he focuses on objectiv...

discord.localmediahq.com localnewsletteros.com ⁠ https://signup.memelord.com/tj ⁠ In this episode I wanted to open up my notebook and share a few things I am seeing across local newsletters, high ticket service businesses and software. No script. Just ideas that feel early but important. The first one is the “local MrBeast” concept. My First Million mentioned it this week. I had just written about...

What does it take to run a daily local newsletter in a big metro, completely solo? In this conversation, Nick Hageman of KC Daily walks through his journey from side project in between orthopedic surgery cases to full-time operator of a daily newsletter reaching tens of thousands of Kansas Citians. He talks openly about starting with someone else’s blueprint from NWA Daily, adapting it to Kansas C...

Local media operators love to talk about “diversified revenue,” but in this conversation, Nate Spangle shows exactly what that looks like in practice. TJ and Nate unpack how Get Indiana evolved from a struggling tech-company podcast into a growing Indiana-focused media company with a statewide podcast, multiple newsletters, and a strong social presence. Nate explains why he reoriented the show tow...

How do you turn a local newsletter into the default media brand in your city? In this conversation, Jas walks TJ through exactly how he did it, shrinking his team from several part-time VAs to one highly leveraged full-timer, tightening his processes, and freeing up his own time by cutting newsletter production from 12 hours a week down to about four. They unpack Beehive’s big feature announcement...

This episode dives deep into building a durable local media business with Michael Kauffman of Catskill Crew and The Newsletter Club. We unpack why communities crave print again, how to monetize beyond banner ads, and what it takes to turn a newsletter into a multi-revenue platform. You’ll hear how Discord-powered peer learning accelerates growth and why “quality over quantity” in ads is non-negoti...

This episode digs into how Jimmy Farrell grew CHS Happenings —a Charleston, SC local newsletter—from 0 to 10,000+ subscribers with a deliberate, community-first approach. We cover why he chose a personality-led brand, how he thinks about weekly cadence, and why Instagram—not LinkedIn—is his main growth channel for local audiences. We also talk through the real tradeoffs of pausing paid growth to f...

In this episode, Tance Hughes shares how he launched and grew The Miss Lou Brew across two small river towns (Vidalia, LA and Natchez, MS) with a combined population around 20,000. We cover realistic upsides and downsides of operating in a tiny market, why list size isn’t everything, and how he ties the newsletter to his other local businesses. We also dig into acquisition strategy, where Meta ads...

Nick “NoHo Nick” Roberts joins TJ to share the operating system behind his San Fernando Valley newsletter: organic growth, consistent social video, and community-first curation. He compares TikTok vs. Instagram, explains why he edits inside TikTok for speed, and shows how he slices one newsletter into multiple neighborhood-specific posts to find what the algorithm favors. You’ll hear how collabora...

Creators and local newsletter operators want in-person connection without the headache of planning events. In this episode, Rae Lambert shares how DNNR (pronounced “dinner”) turns audiences into white-labeled dinner clubs with zero heavy lifting. Listeners learn how personality quizzes, AI matching, and day-of restaurant reveals create table groups of six and a post-dinner meetup that brings multi...

Justin Gordon returns to share the LA Grind playbook: a local newsletter for founders, operators, and investors in Los Angeles that blends curated events, deal flow, jobs, and “living in LA” picks. In just four months, he’s crossed ~5,200 subscribers (as of Sept 25) and turned the list into a thriving in-person community. We dig into the growth stack (Meta ads + LinkedIn + event flywheels + Luma),...

Ashlyn of Cypress Digest breaks down how she grew a Houston-area local newsletter to ~3,300 subscribers with a ~53.6% open rate and ~11% CTR, then flipped the switch on revenue. The headline tactic: a simple Facebook Lead Ad campaign that brought in ~75 advertiser leads for about $60—sub-$1 per lead—by pitching “partnerships” to local businesses instead of generic ads. She compares this inbound fl...

This episode dives into how a local newsletter can punch above its weight by pairing digital reach with in-person events. John Apolinar of Scottsdale Scoop shares the playbook behind his first paid happy hour—securing a sponsor, choosing a venue (the W in Old Town), and using raffle incentives to boost registrations. We dig into why IRL touchpoints build trust and open doors for bigger partnership...

In this episode, TJ digs in with creator and local media operator Jacob Espinoza on what really works for a city-focused podcast and Instagram presence. They cover why local podcasts are hard to grow, the outsized networking value of interviews, and how to keep production simple enough to sustain week after week. You’ll hear how Jacob repurposes interviews across newsletters and short-form video t...

This episode dives into how local newsrooms can turn written stories into habit-forming podcasts. Paul Gewuerz of LocalPod explains his “news blast” format—8–12 minute shows that package top stories, quick ad breaks, and local happenings—plus how AI text-to-speech streamlines production without sacrificing editorial quality. We also unpack why newsletters and podcasts overlap so strongly and why u...

Agency operator Nathan May joins to unpack what actually scales newsletters in 2025: disciplined paid acquisition on Meta, creative that calls out real problems, and a monetization ladder that doesn’t stop at ad slots. We contrast broad B2C with small-but-mighty B2B niches—and show why “local + [professional audience]” can 10x sponsor value. We get tactical: swipeable internal workflows for AI-ass...

In this conversation, entrepreneur and creator Tim Stoddart explains why authenticity and consistency outperform overproduction—and how those same principles power high-margin local service businesses. We dig into his journey from documenting sobriety to building media assets, agencies, and newsletters, and why local SEO remains a durable path for independents. Tim shares a clear model: start with...

In this episode, TJ sits down again with Jas from Winnipeg Digest to talk about the latest experiments and strategies in local newsletter publishing. They discuss the upcoming Business of Local conference in Salt Lake City, the pros and cons of cash giveaways, and the importance of building trust with your audience instead of chasing vanity metrics. Jas shares updates on his community-building eff...