# mainstreet gravity > One system that runs a local media company: an automated newsletter, website, social posts, job board, events calendar, business directory, council coverage, deals and obituaries, plus weekly office hours with the team that built it. Built by the local media HQ team, founded and led by TJ Larkin. The team has launched 20+ local media brands with 175k+ subscribers and built every tool to run them. Tagline: become the center of gravity in your community. What the system runs, under the client's own brand: - A weekly local newsletter, built from the client's own stories, homes, restaurants, events, pets, jobs and deals in about 15 minutes, sent from the email platform they already use. - A local news website with a business directory, events calendar, job board, obituaries and owner interviews, structured to be found by Google and AI search. - Social posts made from the same stories. - Automated city council, school board and permit coverage: drafts with sources, waiting for the client's approval. - AI writing help: a ten-minute brain dump becomes a finished article, and a second AI checks it. - Forms that turn new subscribers and local businesses into leads. Plans: The software (newsletter and social $199 a month, web platform $499 a month, forms and data free), Operator, done with you ($2,000 a month, with weekly office hours with the team, onboarding and playbooks) and Managed, done for you ($5,000 a month, the team runs the content, newsletter, social and Meta ads). Clients keep their brand, their advertisers and 100% of the ads they sell. Who it is for: publishers and operators who already sell to local businesses, and local businesses that want a media arm. ## For AI agents: connect to mainstreet gravity mainstreet gravity has an MCP server and a REST API, so an AI agent can work inside a local media brand: read its articles, events, jobs and businesses, build newsletter issue drafts, file article and page drafts, and keep its topic list. A person approves everything that goes out; no tool sends or schedules a newsletter. - MCP server (streamable HTTP): https://app.mainstreetgravity.com/api/mcp - Sign-in: OAuth 2.1 with PKCE and dynamic client registration, for ChatGPT, Claude.ai and other connector clients. The person signs in, picks one brand and ticks what the agent may do. Discovery: https://app.mainstreetgravity.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server and https://app.mainstreetgravity.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource - Or a key: a per-brand `lkf_` key made in Settings, API keys, sent as `Authorization: Bearer lkf_...`. Works in Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and any MCP client. - Plain HTTP without MCP: `GET https://app.mainstreetgravity.com/api/mcp?tools=1` lists every tool; `POST https://app.mainstreetgravity.com/api/mcp?tool=` with a JSON body calls one. - REST: https://app.mainstreetgravity.com/api/v1/ with articles, businesses, events, jobs, drafts and publish. - Permissions (scopes): content:read, drafts:write, events:write, jobs:write, media:write, topics:write, pages:write, beats:write, publish:write. Publishing is off by default and only an Owner or Admin can allow it. - Tool groups: build issues; find and write stories; photos and GIFs; review and publish; sources and settings; articles, pages and beats; events, jobs and the directory. - Setup steps for each AI app and the full tool list: https://mainstreetgravity.com/apis-and-mcp Case studies with real numbers from our own brands: https://mainstreetgravity.com/case-studies Book a demo or apply: https://mainstreetgravity.com/apply Contact: https://mainstreetgravity.com/#contact ## Articles - [How to cover a town council meeting in an hour instead of three](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-cover-a-town-council-meeting-in-an-hour-instead-of-three): Use the agenda to plan the coverage, record only the debates and votes that matter, then turn one meeting into several short, verified articles. - [Weekly vs daily vs monthly: how often should a local newsletter go out](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/weekly-vs-daily-vs-monthly-how-often-should-a-local-newsletter-go-out): The right cadence is the one that matches the local content you can actually produce in that period, not the one that sounds ambitious. - [How to run a paid legal notice and public record section online](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-run-a-paid-legal-notice-and-public-record-section-online): Move an existing billing relationship to a screen: a searchable notices page, an archive and the same invoice rhythm you use in print. - [Should your local news site cover sports, crime, or council meetings first](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/should-your-local-news-site-cover-sports-crime-or-council-meetings-first): A solo publisher has maybe two free evenings a week. Here is how to pick the first beat so those evenings are not wasted. - [What to do when a local advertiser cancels: a save script for publishers](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/what-to-do-when-a-local-advertiser-cancels-a-save-script-for-publishers): A 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. - [How to write a local business profile the owner will pay for and readers will finish](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-write-a-local-business-profile-the-owner-will-pay-for-and-readers-will-finish): The 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. - [Five mistakes that make a local newsletter feel like spam (and what to write instead)](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/five-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. - [Print subscription vs digital membership: which model fits your local paper](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/print-subscription-vs-digital-membership-which-model-fits-your-local-paper): A comparison of reader revenue and sponsor revenue for a digital side, what each demands of a publisher, and how to test one alongside print. - [How a local news site finds its first thousand readers](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-a-local-news-site-finds-its-first-thousand-readers): A 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. - [What a chamber of commerce partnership looks like and when it pays](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/what-a-chamber-of-commerce-partnership-looks-like-and-when-it-pays): Chambers 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. - [How to decide what your local news site should cover and what to skip](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-decide-what-your-local-news-site-should-cover-and-what-to-skip): A three part test for picking coverage that readers search for, businesses sponsor and records support. - [When should a local news site ask readers to pay](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/when-should-a-local-news-site-ask-readers-to-pay): A 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. - [How to get local businesses to submit their own events without chasing them](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-get-local-businesses-to-submit-their-own-events-without-chasing-them): A self-serve submission flow, a seeded calendar, and a weekly habit can turn an empty events page into one that fills itself. - [The sponsorship pitch gyms, realtors, and restaurants actually answer](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/the-sponsorship-pitch-gyms-realtors-and-restaurants-actually-answer): A repeatable script for selling newsletter and section sponsorships to local service businesses that already spend on Facebook ads. - [Why obituaries quietly become the most visited page on a local news site](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/why-obituaries-quietly-become-the-most-visited-page-on-a-local-news-site): A section nobody writes headlines for keeps beating the news, because families and funeral homes share every single listing on purpose. - [How to launch a local newsletter when you have no email list](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-launch-a-local-newsletter-when-you-have-no-email-list): A 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. - [Why local business owners say yes to a print ad and no to everything else](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/why-local-business-owners-say-yes-to-a-print-ad-and-no-to-everything-else): The owner is not rejecting the price. They are rejecting what they cannot hold in their hands and verify with their own eyes. - [How to price a local business interview when the owner has never bought one](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-price-a-local-business-interview-when-the-owner-has-never-bought-one): A repeatable way to name a number on the spot, back it with named deliverables, and hold the price when the first objection comes. - [What a retired publisher should do first when starting an online paper](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/what-a-retired-publisher-should-do-first-when-starting-an-online-paper): A first-30-days plan for someone with deep community ties and no web experience: four moves, in order, and a list of what to postpone. - [How to sell your print advertisers a digital events calendar](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-sell-your-print-advertisers-a-digital-events-calendar): The 5K and the fall festival your advertisers already sponsor can live on a web page all year, and that page can carry listings and sponsorships you sell alongside your print schedule. - [How public records become local stories nobody else is writing](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-public-records-become-local-stories-nobody-else-is-writing): Permits, court filings, property transfers and meeting agendas are free, dependable sources of original local stories. Here is which records to pull, where to get them, and how to turn each one into a short publishable article on a weekly routine. - [What it costs to run a local news site after you launch it](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/what-it-costs-to-run-a-local-news-site-after-you-launch-it): The launch number is easy to find. The five monthly line items behind it are where most publishers lose track. - [How to turn a single advertiser conversation into three sales](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-turn-a-single-advertiser-conversation-into-three-sales): A repeatable way to structure the meeting so a business interview, a directory listing and a sponsorship surface before the pitch starts. - [Why local business directories stall in year one](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/why-local-business-directories-stall-in-year-one): Three predictable mistakes, empty listings, no upsell path, and set-and-forget pages, put most directories at risk, and each one has a plain fix. - [Why some local news sites show up in AI answers and others don't](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/why-some-local-news-sites-show-up-in-ai-answers-and-others-dont): AI assistants pick the local sources that are easy to find, easy to trust, and structured well. All three are things a small publisher controls. - [How to price a sponsored section without guessing](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-price-a-sponsored-section-without-guessing): A local business owner asks what a sponsored section costs. Here is how to build a number you can defend, from three figures you already have. - [What an established local business should know before starting a media arm](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/what-an-established-local-business-should-know-before-starting-a-media-arm): A local business that publishes news can build real standing in its community. The commitment is a rhythm, a person accountable for it, and a hard line between news and promotion. - [How to run a paid obituaries program that families actually use](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-run-a-paid-obituaries-program-that-families-actually-use): A family calls the desk, the print notice runs once, and it is gone. Here is how to turn that same notice into a lasting digital memorial that pays you and the funeral home. - [Five ways local publishers fund a news site without paywalls](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/five-ways-local-publishers-fund-a-news-site-without-paywalls): A free local news site can still pay for itself. Here are the five revenue models publishers use, and what each one asks of you before you commit. - [What local jobs boards earn and how to price a listing](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/what-local-jobs-boards-earn-and-how-to-price-a-listing): Local employers already call you when they need to hire. A jobs section turns that recurring request into a line item instead of a favor. - [Why local businesses show up in AI search answers and how to influence it](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/why-local-businesses-show-up-in-ai-search-answers-and-how-to-influence-it): AI assistants pick which businesses to name. Here is where those answers come from and what you can actually do about yours. - [How much can a small local newsletter make from sponsors](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-much-can-a-small-local-newsletter-make-from-sponsors): The moment arrives in a sales call. An advertiser who has bought print for years asks whether the paper has an email list, because they want their shop in front of people who read on their phones. Th… - [How to run Meta ads that grow your local newsletter list](https://mainstreetgravity.com/articles/how-to-run-meta-ads-that-grow-your-local-newsletter-list): A first Facebook and Instagram campaign for a local publisher: how to pick the audience, what the ad should say, and how to judge whether it worked.