Small Press, Big Ideas

Today Paul speaks with Alec Saelens, Impact Manager at Solutions Journalism Network. Alec and Paul discuss Alec's path into journalism, the establishment of the Bristol Cable, and his current role at the Solutions Journalism Network. He emphasizes the importance of cooperative models in local journalism, the potential of solutions journalism to generate revenue, and the need for impact tracking to...

Today Paul is joined by Johnny Levy, CEO of DataJoe and founder of the Media Data Collaborative. They discuss the significance of data in local media, the challenges of monetizing that data, and the importance of networking. Johnny shares his view on the role of connection in the media space, sharing insights on how he leverages his strengths as a connector to foster relationships and collaboratio...

Today Paul is joined by Chief Growth & Innovation Officer for Wisconsin Watch Richard E. Brown. Richard shares insights on the evolving landscape of local journalism, the importance of storytelling, and the need for news organizations to align with advertisers that share their mission. He discusses his career journey, the significance of building relationships within the community, and strategies...

Today Paul is joined by Sara McNamara, Director of Business Development for white label ticketing software company Ticketsauce. They discuss the mechanics of how the platform works, the revenue opportunities it creates, and success stories from local media companies that have effectively utilized the platform. Sara also provides insights into what local publishers should consider when expanding th...

Today Paul is joined by Chris Krewson, Executive Director of LION Publishers. LION (Local Independent Online News) is a nonprofit that strengthens the local news industry by helping independent news publishers build more sustainable businesses. On the podcast they discuss the origins of LION, the importance of diverse revenue streams for local media companies, AI and its effects on the industry, h...

Today Paul welcomes Laurie Sigillito to the podcast. Laurie is the founder of Local News Network, a local media startup based out of Durango, Colorado. Paul and Laurie discuss how Local News Network combines video content with digital out of home networks, social media, newsletters, and more. They discuss how Laurie's background in the tech and signage industries led to the formation of the compan...

Daniel Olson is the founder of GoList, a national advertising platform that is curated by local news with the goal of keeping ad dollars in the pockets of local publishers. On this episode, Paul and Dan discuss the origins of GoList and how the platform operates. They also cover Dan's plans for scaling the platform, the user experience, and how GoList aims to facilitate direct communication betwee...

In this episode, Paul interviews Fran Wills, CEO of the Local Media Consortium (LMC). Fran discusses how LMC supports over 150 local media companies across the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico by negotiating partnerships with digital technology providers. She shares insights on the rapidly evolving local news landscape, highlighting trends like the shift to video content, the rise of newsletters, and t...

Today Paul chats with multimedia journalist Mega Roche. They talk about how Megan fell in love with journalism, the changes she's seen in the industry throughout her career, and some of the tougher sides of the industry such as dealing with burnout. They also discuss Megan's Path to Paris series and how she's successfully taken local stories and applied a global lens to them. Connect with Megan: h...

Today on the podcast, Paul talks with Ryan Restivo, the founder of SEO Slack app YESEO. YESEO is a free Slack app that helps newsrooms create relevant headlines, generate the right keywords to use, and gives right information at the right time to help publishers get their work seen and read. Paul and Ryan discuss how YESEO works from a workflow perspective, what its capabilities are, YESEO’s busin...

Today Paul sits down with Guy Tasaka, managing partner at Tasaka Digital and technology columnist for Editor & Publisher Magazine. In the conversation, Guy illustrates his thoughts on a concept that he's dubbed "local media 3.0". This is an upgrade for local news organizations to modern, internet-native business strategies and includes owning first party intent data, omni channel selling, a re-thi...

Today Paul is joined by the first two time guest to the podcast, TAPinto and Hyperlocal News Network CEO Michael Shapiro. Quick Note: If you haven't yet, go back and listen to season one, episode one to hear Michael's story of founding and growing TAPinto. On this episode, Michael discusses his newest venture, the Hyperlocal News Network. The HNN offers the same robust back office and publishing c...

For the first episode of season two Paul speaks with Claudia Amaro, founder of Planeta Venus. Planeta Venus is a local digital, print, and audio outlet serving the Spanish speaking community of Wichita, KS. Claudia tells her story of immigrating from Mexico as a child, being fascinated with journalism from an early age, and her winding path to founding Planeta Venus. She discusses the special cons...

Eric Prock is the founder of Wave 3 advisors, a consultancy focused on redesigning the economic model of journalism, reducing risk for journalists and restoring trust. In this episode, Paul Gewuerz speaks with Eric about how the local news crisis started, how the convergence of multiple factors helped accelerate it, and what we can do to fix it. Connect with Eric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-...

On this episode Paul is joined by Coralie Saint-Louis, the founder of Enpak Social. Enpak is a mobile app designed to connect people and communities through shared interests and local news. In this conversation, Paul and Coralie discuss the issues that arise from people getting their news from social media and how Enpak aims to fix that. They also discuss rebuilding trust between the media and the...

Today on the podcast Paul is joined by David Arkin, a consultant who brings his 25+ years of experience in audience, digital revenue, content, and leadership to help newsrooms and other organizations. David shares his wealth of knowledge around fractional digital leadership, utility journalism, branded content, SEO, evergreen content, and more with a focus on local news publishers. He brings a ton...

Today on the podcast Paul is joined by Noah Greenberg, CEO and co-founder of Stacker, an earned syndication platform connecting media outlets and their readers with high quality, original research and insights from third-party publishers. Noah explains what a newswire is and how Stacker is different in terms of both business model and the type of content they produce. He explains how Stacker's mod...

Amethyst J. Davis is the founder of the Harvey World Herald, a hyperlocal news site serving the town of Harvey, Illinois. Today on the podcast, Paul talks with Amethyst about her journey out of her home town to attend NYU and start her career in New York, only to boomerang back home to serve her community after witnessing the lack of quality information during the COVID-19 pandemic. They talk abou...

Amy L. Kovac-Ashley is the Executive Director of Tiny News Collective, a non profit dedicated to providing tools, resources, and community for people looking to build sustainable news organizations that reflect and serve their communities. On this episode, Paul and Amy discuss the story of her career, her passion for journalism, and dig into the work that TNC is doing with it's founders. Links fro...

Henry Scott has an extensive career in journalism, working for multiple publications such as the Hartford Courant and New York Times before launching his own media consulting firm in the late 90's. But it wasn't until a hotel blared loud Elton John songs in his own backyard that he dipped his toes into launching his own hyperlocal publication, an online outlet serving West Hollywood, CA called WEH...

Today Paul talks with Guy Nahmiach. Guy is the publisher of The Neighborhood Gazette, a monthly newspaper serving multiple communities on the west side of the Denver metro area. Guy talks about his journey into local journalism, starting when he joined his children's PTA and started writing a column in his local paper about the education system. Flash forward several years and Guy followed an oppo...

Today Paul Gewuerz interviews journalist, entrepreneur, and nationally known advocate for robust accountability journalism Steven Waldman. Steven started his career in legacy media, working with publications such as US News & World Report and Newsweek. He left in the early 2000's to start a website in the web 1.0 era. His career trajectory changed when he worked on a report for the FCC about the i...

Today on the podcast, Paul talks with Peter Rice, founder of Downtown Albuquerque News. DAN is a hyperlocal publication serving two zip codes of downtown Albuquerque with quality journalism, delivered by that lowest of high-tech methods: email. In this conversation, they discuss Peter's frustration with the journalism industry which led him to start DAN, the business model that he uses, what kind...

Dan Oshinsky is the founder of Inbox Collective, a consultancy that helps news organizations, non-profits, and independent operators get the most out of email. Today on the podcast Dan and Paul discuss Dan's story and the power of email for local news publishers. Dan left his job at the New Yorker after starting a successful Google doc titled 'Not a Newsletter'. Since starting out on his own, Dan...

Today on the podcast, Paul welcomes Rashad Mahmood. Rashad works to support local journalism in New Mexico as the Executive Director of the New Mexico Local News Fund. His focus is on local news equity, ensuring that people and communities all over the state have access to the news and information they need. The conversation covers Rashad's journey into journalism, the mission of the New Mexico Lo...