Articles
How local media makes money now.
Plain-English playbooks for publishers who want more influence and more revenue from the businesses they already know.
ProductHow to cover a town council meeting in an hour instead of threeUse the agenda to plan the coverage, record only the debates and votes that matter, then turn one meeting into several short, verified articles.
TJ Larkin3 min read
TJ Larkin3 min readProductWeekly vs daily vs monthly: how often should a local newsletter go outThe right cadence is the one that matches the local content you can actually produce in that period, not the one that sounds ambitious.TJ Larkin4 min readProductHow to run a paid legal notice and public record section onlineMove an existing billing relationship to a screen: a searchable notices page, an archive and the same invoice rhythm you use in print.TJ Larkin3 min readProductShould your local news site cover sports, crime, or council meetings firstA solo publisher has maybe two free evenings a week. Here is how to pick the first beat so those evenings are not wasted.TJ Larkin3 min read
TJ Larkin4 min readProductHow to run a paid legal notice and public record section onlineMove an existing billing relationship to a screen: a searchable notices page, an archive and the same invoice rhythm you use in print.
TJ Larkin3 min readProductShould your local news site cover sports, crime, or council meetings firstA solo publisher has maybe two free evenings a week. Here is how to pick the first beat so those evenings are not wasted.
TJ Larkin3 min readMore articles
ProductWhat to do when a local advertiser cancels: a save script for publishersA three-part conversation you can run the same day a longtime advertiser says they are pulling their ad, with the questions to ask, the smaller offer to make, and the follow-up to book.3 minProductHow to write a local business profile the owner will pay for and readers will finishThe format that works is short, built on one real angle from the owner's own answers, and assembled from a small set of questions you ask every time.4 minProductFive mistakes that make a local newsletter feel like spam (and what to write instead)If opens sag and unsubscribes tick up, the email is probably asking readers to buy something instead of telling them something useful about their own town.3 minProductPrint subscription vs digital membership: which model fits your local paperA comparison of reader revenue and sponsor revenue for a digital side, what each demands of a publisher, and how to test one alongside print.3 minProductHow a local news site finds its first thousand readersA new local site launches to an audience of zero. The first readers come from the people and channels a publisher already has, worked in a deliberate order.3 minProductWhat a chamber of commerce partnership looks like and when it paysChambers want exposure and member value. A media operator gets a deal worth signing only when the structure opens member contact with real advertising intent, and the numbers work before the fee is paid.4 minProductHow to decide what your local news site should cover and what to skipA three part test for picking coverage that readers search for, businesses sponsor and records support.3 minProductWhen should a local news site ask readers to payA paywall, free access, or a mixed model should follow from your town's size and where your money actually comes from. Here is a framework for choosing.3 minProductHow to get local businesses to submit their own events without chasing themA self-serve submission flow, a seeded calendar, and a weekly habit can turn an empty events page into one that fills itself.3 minProductThe sponsorship pitch gyms, realtors, and restaurants actually answerA repeatable script for selling newsletter and section sponsorships to local service businesses that already spend on Facebook ads.3 minProductWhy obituaries quietly become the most visited page on a local news siteA section nobody writes headlines for keeps beating the news, because families and funeral homes share every single listing on purpose.3 minProductHow to launch a local newsletter when you have no email listA print publisher can find their first subscribers in readers, records, events and advertiser relationships they already touch every week, and send their first issue within a month.4 min
