Advice From an Editor on the Platform
Tran Longmoore, editor of , has been making a living reporting local news in Michigan, since 1999. He offered his insights on bootstrapping and sustaining a successful online local news organization in a small town.
Knowing Your Audience:
I work in a school district south of Ann Arbor (27,000 residents); we have one high school (1800 students) and a lot of sports-minded families. I cover at least 2 high school games per week. When I go, I take hundreds of pictures, and I upload video highlights to Twitter. After the game I conduct video interviews with the coaches and stars of the game. I write the story, and upload images to a photo gallery. People love photo galleries. I do the same thing for the big school musical and some of the big concerts, too.
YesIts kind of silly. Yet parents love it. Kids love it. Its the modern version of the small-town newspaper. And when people see you working hard to showcase their kids, it buys you a lot of good willand contacts (students and staff) when you start digging around the school board and city council for stories or if something is going down...
It is also great for selling and loyalty: you can monetize your videos and create them on the fly, and, these kids will graduate, go to college and come back and view your publication as their hometown news.
Engage Your Audience Wherever They Are
Tough one for me, because I am not a fan of Facebook. But I cant ignore the Facebook audience I built with a page and a group. If theres a fire, I go Live on Facebooksometimes while Im still in my vehicle! I report what Im seeing (and try to avoid speculating)....Im waiting for the app that allows me to go live on different platforms at once.
You can embed all these videos into your website later and get double duty from the content.
Working for your audience on FB doesnt really help your advertising revenue, but it builds your profile. It increases your value to readers. That value can turn into recurring donor dollars, advertisers, and audience.
Build Relationships in Key Areas
This is tricky. Ive had a tumultuous relationship with my local police department over the years due to reporting on the inter-department backstabbing and infighting. But you dont want to get too far on the wrong side of the cops. For one, it can make driving stressful in your small town. Secondly, when they wont feed you information, your crime news can suffer.
Sometimes, the news business spoils relationships. Do the right thing. But if you can, make some alliances in the police department.
Ive had far more success with my local fire department. They have even included me in their page system, so when they get sent out, I know about it. And when the fire department gets a new truck, or they promote someone, or whatever, I go take a picture and post a quick story. Everyone wins.
Content:
Over the years, my views on local news coverage have changed. That happens when you become a publisher and a reporter, and its a fact of life when youre the owner. With that in mind, there are a few things I have learned, and a few routines I follow as a reporter running my own local news organization.
An ideological journalist might be slightly offended by some of what youre about to read. But when you go hyperlocal on your own, youre not just a journalist; youre a publisher. You must think about the businessor you wont be doing journalism for very long.
And there are only so many hours to go around, and only so much freelance budget (if you have any at all!). So heres my guide to whether or not to cover a story. All it takes is one YES.
Keys to Editorial Content:
- Will people read it? (articles about emergencies, crime; articles about new restaurants)
- Does it serve some public interest? (e.g. news articles on public meetings, investigations)
- Will it build bridges with key players or organizations in the community?
- Will it serve my business interest? (e.g. a photo op at the local advertiser)
- Is it interesting? Even if it doesnt make metrics pop, writing interesting stories about interesting issues, people or activities builds credibility.
- Will writing it keep you sane? Sometimes, you need to write the kinds of articles that you need to write.
Quick and Easy Content From Your Users!
Encourage press releases and people to send in photos with captions. You can post them in minutes and give your daily feed a fuller feel.
Encourage people to post their own content to your site: to the calendar, classifieds, hot news tips. Encourage commenting and dialogue; its all free content, and establishes your publication as a center for engagement and information.
And when they post content, share it on your social feeds; it flatters people and builds loyalty and return customers.
Monetization:
If you have written good content, you will have business owners who want to advertise, but there is much more to it than if you build it they will come. I do not pretend to be an expert here, yet when I convince myself to sell ads, I have had success.
Here are a few pointers:
- Join the local chamber of commerce. Work with them. Cover their ribbon cuttings. Make business cards and hand them out during networking breakfasts and lunches or other events.
- Set aside hours each week to sell. Work with the local chamber of commerce for contact info. Periodic emails are much easier than face-to-face selling, and they can work.
- Reach out to advertisersand service them! Check in on them after you sell. Use your growing social media presence to support them. They will appreciate that.
- Know your audience. For example, I do a lot of high school sports. All those athletes have proud fathers and mothers. And they love to see their kids in the media in photo galleries and articles. They are prime targets. If youre doing sports, youre probably getting rosters from the Athletic Department before the season. Youre going to see familiar names out there.
- Monetize social media posts. Did you just do a 3 minute video with someone? Slap a 4 second ad on the start of the video and broadcast the video out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. You can do this in minutes from your phone.