How Facebook Turns ‘Likes’ Into Dollars Right Down to the Local Level

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Local news publishers typically know many of their community restaurateurs on a first-name basis, and are regular diners at the establishments. But they can’t offer the precise targeting capability of Facebook, whose services are, in most cases, fully automated — greatly lowering their cost.

Facebook Talks About Its ‘Shared Future’ With Local News Publishers

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In recent sessions, many publishers – most of them focused on local news – are learning best practices of digital publishing that have helped Facebook attract an audience of more than 2 billion subscribers.

Street Fight Staff and Friends Predict 2017’s Top Stories (Part Two)

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As 2016 draws to a close, we’ve once again asked Street Fight staffers and columnists to look into their crystal ball and offer prognostications for what they think will be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2017.

How Local Publishers Can Use Email Newsletters to Monetize their Audiences

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The country’s largest publishers have teams of editors putting together their email newsletters, but local publishers can adopt many of their same strategies with just a little bit of creativity. Here are five strategies for local publishers looking to monetize their email newsletters right now.

As 10-Year Mark Approaches, West Seattle Blog Sticks to Profitable Basics

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In December 2005, West Seattle Blog was a “personal project” with no news or advertising. A major windstorm that struck West Seattle and King County in December 2006 changed all that, and in the nearly 10 years since, WSB has become a highly regarded inspiration for independent digital community sites.

Parse.ly’s Audience Analytics Help News Sites Make Stronger Case to Advertisers

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Audience analytics firms Parse.ly aims to give community news sites the same kind of in-depth information that platforms like Facebook provide about how users are responding – and not responding – to content. The company aims to help editors and reporters make decisions that can go right to the bottom line, leading to higher revenue.

Life After Patch: Finding Success in Community Publishing as a One-Person Operation

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Two years ago, Aol’s sale of Patch to Hale Global prompted a number of the company’s former editors to found their own independent sites. Michael Dinan, who had held major Patch posts in suburban Connecticut, was one of them. In this Q & A, we see how he and NewCanaanite.com are faring.

It’s Been a Long Slog, but Digital News Publishers Are Beginning to Innovate

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News publishers get beat up regularly for not making a successful journalistic transition from their palmy print days to the hotly competitive digital era. And they certainly deserve it. But I think Neal Mann’s recent full-metal-jacket attack on them in Medium was way over the top.

From Print to Patch to His Own ‘Indie’ Site — A 25-Year Saga

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Steven Jack, who was regional editor for eight Patch sites before leaving in the first round of layoffs, did what many of his terminated colleagues did — he started his own independent site. In less than a year, he has captured 31,000 unique visitors for his Only Oswego, which more than equals the town’s population…