Is the outlook for local digital news as gloomy as a spate of recent reports indicates? Or are the forecasters looking in the rear-view mirror? We spoke recently with Rusty Coats, executive director of the digitally focused Local Media Consortium, about why the prognosis for local media might not be as bad is it seems.
After mulling over the recent proposal to realign publishers’ relationships with advertisers and readers, I went to Rusty Coats, executive director of the Local Media Consortium, to see if he thought it was something legacy media companies would buy into.
The LMC recently agreed to two deals that will give the 1,600 digital operations of its 61 members more tools and better opportunities to assemble audiences that are bigger and more engaged and can be served up to advertisers in a variety of pick-and-choose consumer profiles…
The Local Media Consortium has grown to 50 publishers, whose products include 800 newspapers and 200 broadcast stations across the U.S. Here, Rusty Coats, executive director, talks about where LMC is after its first year and where it’s headed…
“Getting money from local businesses is a street fight,” says Rusty Coats. “The options and alternatives seem to grow exponentially every day, and many businesses live in a fog of not knowing what to do. … That’s why I applaud these community news entrepreneurs and what they’re trying to accomplish. They are mission-driven and determined to build sustainable businesses by serving their communities.”