{"id":215029,"date":"2020-10-21T13:51:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T17:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lionpublishers.com\/?p=215029"},"modified":"2021-07-02T13:58:14","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T17:58:14","slug":"4-reasons-why-this-is-independent-medias-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lionpublishers.com\/4-reasons-why-this-is-independent-medias-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Reasons Why This is Independent Media\u2019s Moment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s been a tough year for local news organizations, from the 11,000+ layoffs<\/a> to the talk of a local media \u201capocalypse<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s not all bad news. Not by a long shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we get ready for the 2020 LION Awards<\/a> (p.s. there\u2019s still time to join us<\/a>!), here are 4 reasons why we think our members will lead local media out of the darkness \u2014 plus one reason why it\u2019s a great time to join them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The decline of legacy media is creating new opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s painful to watch what hedge funds and private equity firms are doing<\/a> to vital local newspapers \u2014 but if there\u2019s a silver lining to Wall Street\u2019s bleed-\u2019em-dry strategy, it\u2019s the fact that \u201cnews deserts<\/a>\u201d are actually the perfect place to start something new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, these communities might never sustain another corporate media chain with daily print runs, 50-person ad sales teams, and a constant mandate to pad the pockets of out-of-town investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they can still sustain meaningful digital news outlets, which is why we\u2019re already seeing startups like The Oaklandside<\/a>, The Daily Memphian<\/a> and Santa Cruz Local<\/a> rise from the ashes of defunct or depleted newspapers \u2014 and why we\u2019ll likely see many more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The pandemic is reminding people of the value that only local news can deliver, and they want to support it<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local media has saved lives and helped spur important conversations this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The digital media startup Documented<\/a>, for example, used the messaging tool WhatsApp<\/a> to help undocumented immigrants find food and funds in New York City, and The Nevada Independent<\/a> excelled at putting the state\u2019s coronavirus numbers in context with thoughtful weekly updates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So while the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has been a disaster for many advertising-driven news organizations, that\u2019s been less true for digital news startups with robust reader revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Europe<\/a> to Canada<\/a> to the United States<\/a>, digital news publishers have seen a surge in revenue from memberships and donations in 2020, giving extra momentum to the reader revenue movement that the Membership Puzzle Project<\/a>, the GNI Reader Revenue Playbook<\/a>, and other initiatives helped spark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Technology is (finally) leveling the playing field<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emerging tech platforms are changing the economics of local news, and small, independent digital publishers are poised to be the biggest winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the cost side, companies like Ghost<\/a> and Substack<\/a> have made it virtually free to launch a digital site or newsletter, without any expensive web development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on the revenue side, there\u2019s now a whole ecosystem of startups like Pico<\/a>, Memberful<\/a>, PressPatron<\/a>, LaterPay<\/a> and others that help news entrepreneurs earn reader revenue or convert their audiences from free to paid subscription products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, these trends make it possible for news entrepreneurs to get started without access to VC funding or a super rich uncle \u2014 and that\u2019s opening the door to a more diverse generation of founders, including many of our members<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. The importance of diverse representation is getting the attention it deserves<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journalism industry has been slow to prioritize supporting founders or leaders of color, but we\u2019ve started seeing that change recently, with the launch of the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund<\/a> and a new Facebook Accelerator<\/a> exclusively for publications led by people of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is much more work to do in this space, but it\u2019s heartening to see that amid this year\u2019s Black Lives Matter demonstrations, news organizations are being held accountable for banning their Black reporters from covering BLM protests<\/a>, \u201cpandering\u201d to white readers<\/a>, and continuing to employ mostly white reporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of our LION members are also pushing themselves and their businesses to be more inclusive<\/a> of voices that are often underrepresented in the mainstream conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in the first cohort of our Google News Initiative Startups Lab Boot Camp<\/a>, the majority of our participants are entrepreneurs of color, which is consistent with the diversity of our broader pool of nearly 300 applicants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. The ecosystem for supporting news entrepreneurs is booming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re suddenly getting the urge to launch your own digital news startup, here\u2019s another reason to consider it: You\u2019re no longer alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a long time, launching an independent news publication was a bit of a black box. Founders had to experiment to figure out what worked and what didn\u2019t, costing them a lot of time, money and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, there are efforts now to learn from their early mistakes and successes and apply that to the next generation of digital news startups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n