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‘The  problem  facing  American  journalism  is  not  fundamentally  an  audience  problem  or  a  credibility  problem.  It  is  a  revenue  problem.”  -­‐Pew  Project  for  Excellence  in  Journalism    

2007-­‐2010-­‐-­‐$180M/yr  invested  in  journalism  by  foundaFons  $1.6B/yr  editorial  cuts  by  legacy  newspapers.  Source:  "  The  InformaFon  Needs  of  CommuniFes”,  FCC,  June  2011  

The  landscape  we’re  in  right  now  

Newspapers  &  legacy  media  losing  value  Increasing  number  of  local  “news  deserts”  75%  of  online  ads  go  to  Google  &  FB  CommuniLes  lack  local  voices  to  reflect  who  they  are  &  what  goes  on  

Local  soluLons  oPen  take  2  forms  Hyper  local  play*  

*Ex:  Barista,  Batavian,  West  SeaXle  Blog  

Big  regional  play**  

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**Ex:  Texas  Tribune,  California  Watch,    Minn  Post  

•   Sell  ads  on  a  non-­‐CPM  basis  ($40-­‐$2500/month)  • Grants,  ads  • Market  locaLon,  not  audience  • Focus  on  short  form  local  content  • Keep  staff  minimal  &  producLve  (1-­‐2  arLcles/day)  • Typical  revenue  of  $50-­‐100,000  K  • Annual  budget  $60-­‐300,000  K  

• UnderwriLng,  grants,  donors,  events,  adverLsing  &  more  •   High  tech  with  apps,  ad  targeLng.  •   Strong  third  party  distribuLon,  oPen  to  print  enLty.    • InvesLgaLve  reporLng.  • Aggregates  niche  publicaLons  

Problems  

•  The  big  sites  (budgets  of  $2.3-­‐$6MM)  are  oPen  neither  sustainable  OR  typical  

•  Smaller  sites  are  niche,  harder  to  evaluate  •  Do  funders  have  criteria  to  evaluate  local  efforts?  

•  What  are  realisLc  expectaLons  for  earned  revenue?  

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BoXom  line:  Thinking  about  sustainability  needs  to  start  day  1  

Sustainability  quesLons  

•  What  aspects  of  this  project  create  the  most  value?  How  can  we  make  money  from  them?  

•  Who  can  we  learn  from/copy?  Whose  models  might  work  for  us?  

•  What’s  the  revenue  porlolio  to  try  out?.  

•  Can  we  try  some  tacLcs  and  afford  to  fail?  

•  Do  we  know  how  to  measure  success/failure  in  our  efforts?  

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Ben  Wirz’  formula:  What  is  Minimum  Viable  Product  (MVP?  

MVP  =  F(Customer,  Problem,  Time  or  $$$)  

•  Focus  on  CUSTOMER  –  QualitaLve  Discovery,  QuanLtaLve  ValidaLon  

•  Get  to  know  habits,  problems,  desires  (FUN  MATTERS)  –  what  causes  pain?    what  causes  pleasure?    

•  Define  1-­‐5  TESTABLE  Conversion  Metrics  of  Value  –  AXenLon/Usage  (session  Lme,  clicks)  –  Customer  Data  (email,  connect,  profile)  -­‐  Revenue  (direct  or  indirect)  -­‐  RetenLon  (visits  over  Lme,  cohort  behavior)  -­‐  Referral  (users  evangelize  to  other  users)  

•  Note:  Paid  SoluLons  drive  FOCUS  (&  pay  rent)    

SOURCE:  DAVE  MCCLURE,  500  Startups,  Metrics4Pirates  PresentaLon,  June  2011  

Where  are  you  in  this  equaLon?  

•  How  do  you  think  about  sustainability?  •  What  do  you  know  to  be  true?  

•  What  are  you  quesLoning?  

•  What  are  you  funding—or  not  funding?  

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