Newsonomics: How Grows The Millennial Market, Charlotte Agenda and Spirited Media?

Two local-news companies have focused on the large millennial populations in urban centers. Now, with several years under their collective belts, we can report some intriguing numbers. By far, their number one source of revenue: sponsorship.   RELATED ARTICLE On track to bring in $850,000 ...

Read More

Newsonomics: Did Digital First Media Owner Alden Cook The Books?

  That’s the allegation now moving into Delaware’s Chancery Court. This week, Solus Alternative Asset Management LP accused Alden Global Capital — the increasingly maligned majority owner of Digital First Media — of “possible mismanagement and breaches of fiduciary duty.” The big charge: ...

Read More

Newsonomics: As News Guard Gets Funded, Will An Ad Play Lead It To Success?

The latest Steve Brill/Gordon Crovitz startup (which I described in detail last fall) takes an easy-to-understand traffic light approach to combatting the scourge of fake news. Its promised green/yellow/red signals seem like they should be brain-dead simple for even the least brand-aware of ...

Read More

Newsonomics: What’s The Sound Of A Tronc Crashing?

Thursday marked a day of reckoning for Tronc. The company — the last big public newspaper company to report year-end earnings — released those numbers for 2017. They weren’t good, as I had signaled in my earlier reporting on the chaos at and subsequent sale of the Los Angeles Times. But what ...

Read More

Newsonomics: Tronc “Crashes”, DFM Owner Sued, News Guard Funded, Advance Tiptoes Into Paywalls — and The Big Lesson From Hypergrowing The Athletic

Is it really only the beginning of March? The news business’ gyrations seem to be moving at warp speed this year, and particularly this week, as two newspaper companies long in the news make new big moves. As Tronc reckons with the crash of its stock price and oh-so-private Alden Global Capital ...

Read More

Newsonomics: GateHouse Goes Bigger, Buying Austin’s Daily and Eyeing The Palm Beach Post

GateHouse Media, though suffering through all the same revenue woes as its peers, is about to get significantly bigger.   RELATED ARTICLE Newsonomics: Will Michael Ferro double down on newspapers or go digital? February 21, 2018     Earlier today, GateHouse officially became the ...

Read More

Newsonomics: The L.A. Times, California Collapse and Oregon’s New Troubles

No, the saga of the Los Angeles Times isn’t the only story in the newspaper world. It’s just that in its breathtaking oddness, it consumed the beginning of our year. Let’s begin with one question about the future of the Times, but then move on to other early-in-the-year questions that may tell ...

Read More

Newsonomics: Vulture Alden Circles Boston

Casual observers tell me it looks to them like Alden, DFM’s owner, is tiring of the business, as it cuts deeply in California and sees seasoned executives like Denver Post publisher Mac Tully and editor Greg Moore leave, fed up. Au contraire. On Wednesday, DFM more than doubled GateHouse’s ...

Read More

Newsonomics: Is The New York Times Now, In Part, A Radio Station?

The Times and American Public Media announced Tuesday that the paper’s podcast The Daily will now be a broadcast radio show too. The news further certifies The Daily as a phenomenon. Host Michael Barbaro and his expanding stellar crew just celebrated their one-year anniversary, with the Times ...

Read More

Newsonomics: Is The Washington Post Profitable?

Post publisher Fred Ryan laughed Wednesday when I pointed out the considerable skepticism I’ve heard since the Post announced its second year of profit success — with precious little other data — last month. He points to both its digital subscription growth and greater ad selling engagement as ...

Read More