15 local news entrepreneurs walk into a Zoom call

Luckily for you, I recorded the entire discussion.

Welcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my media industry newsletter. If you've received it, then you either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you. If you fit into the latter camp and want to subscribe, then you can click on this handy little button:

Let’s jump into it…

Quick hits

CNN has one of the most-visited news websites on the planet, and yet its executives (stupidly) place almost all of their attention on growing its dying linear TV business. [Puck]

Add Conde Nast to a small list of legacy media companies that have pulled off an impressive turnaround in recent years. [Digiday]

HOLY COW: YouTube Premium is quietly becoming a monster business. [The Verge]

Alex Blumberg has left Spotify. This is pretty much the final nail in the coffin for Gimlet Media. It was one of the most exciting media companies to launch in the last decade, and it just completely withered and died post-acquisition. [Ben Mullin]

"The median age for streaming news viewers is up to 25 years younger than the traditional TV news audience." {LA Times] Maybe someone who works at CNN should read this article.

This is a great example of how to repurpose already-existing content. [Digital Content Next]

15 local news entrepreneurs walk into a Zoom call

This week I convened a panel of experts on local news. They included:

• Mike Shapiro, founder of TAPinto

• Scott Brodbeck, founder of ARLnow

• Ben DeJarnette, communications director for LION

• Charlie Meyerson, former newsletter editor for the Chicago Tribune

…and several others. We had an amazing discussion on how to convert free readers into paid subscribers, the best ways to find advertisers, and how to pull off local live events.

And luckily for you, I recorded the entire discussion. The video is embedded below: