The traditional business model of local journalism is no longer sustainable. As digital disruption continues, panelists agreed that the industry must fundamentally rethink how it generates revenue. Gone are the days when advertising alone could support robust newsrooms.
“Do we want companies with lots of revenue but making little money, or do we want moderate revenue with reasonable profits?” asked Leonard Woolsey, President of Southern Newspapers.
Jeff Johnson, Senior VP at Hearst, President and Group Head of Hearst Newspapers, recalled a pivotal turning point: “I call it the summer of ’23. Four years of really rapid growth, and we thought we had this all figured out, and then the growth stopped.”
The panelists explored the idea that media companies have likely already reached the majority of readers who are willing to pay under the current value proposition. To grow, they said, companies must be willing to rethink content, pricing, and user experience.
“We offer a certain content strategy, a certain user experience, a certain price… and I think we may have reached a lot of the people who like that value proposition,” Johnson said.
Innovation in this space often looks like what Hearst did in Houston: building digital tools that help residents with practical tasks, like appealing property taxes. This approach reflects a broader move toward utility journalism that serves readers not only as citizens, but as consumers with problems to solve.
As the revenue mix continues to evolve, panelists agreed that focusing on consumer-based income, rather than relying solely on advertising, provides greater long-term stability.
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