For the past couple of decades, local news has been struggling everywhere but the problem is particularly visible in the US where large swathes of the country turned into news deserts. These are often poorer, less-wired areas where communities lack credible sources of information about their local institutions which harms local democracy.But new local outlets also spring up and do well. Take Downtown Albuquerque News (DAN), a hyperlocal newspaper created in 2019 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, US, covering a zone of about 30,000 people.Instead of resenting the platforms, chasing philanthropic funding or trying to monetise everything else but journalism, DAN makes money with a simple, low-tech newsletter.100 per cent reader-funded, it does not advertise or sell anything. Its founder and editor Peter Rice said that, even before Google and Facebook, advertising money has been hard and time-consuming to chase. For small, local newsrooms, it means more admin and less time for journalism.
Origen: ‘We are profitable because our business model is dead simple’ | Media news
