Keep It Local | Local Media Association
Keep It Local | Local Media Association
Podcast Description
Keep It Local explores how local journalism is evolving — and thriving — through innovation. Hosted by the Local Media Association, each episode highlights strategies that help newsrooms build community and revenue. 🎙️
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on evolving local journalism practices, revenue strategies, and community engagement. Episodes explore specific topics such as branded content, showcasing real-world success stories from local media companies, and the importance of trust and transparency in content strategies.
Keep It Local explores how local journalism is evolving — and thriving — through innovation. Hosted by the Local Media Association, each episode highlights strategies that help newsrooms build community and revenue. 🎙️
In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton talks with Bethany Lane, revenue strategist at QCity Metro in Charlotte, N.C., and a Local Media Association Innovator of the Year.
Bethany shares how she helped the Black-owned digital publication grow from about 100 donors to record fundraising campaigns — all by getting comfortable with direct asks, using human-centered video and deeply understanding their audience.
They also dive into culturally specific fundraising strategies, overcoming the fear of unsubscribes and new frontiers like AI-read articles and community food festivals.
💡 Key takeaways
✅ Be direct — local journalism can’t survive on passive goodwill.
✅ Humor + human connection beat polished, generic pitches.
✅ Build campaigns around what your community actually values.
✅ Don’t fear unsubscribes; fear building a list of disengaged people.
✅ Think beyond stories: events, AI audio, and social experiments all fuel sustainability.
Disclaimer
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