Owning the news

Journalist Megan Greenwell has been on tour promoting “Bad Company,” her book about the impact of private equity on American workers and communities. Part of it is about the news business, inspired by Greenwell’s own experience in which the parent of the publication she edited, Deadspin, was sold to a private equity firm.

In a lot of cases, she told Camille Bromley for CJR, news companies have sold to private equity firms because their “fiduciary responsibility” — the obligation to create value for shareholders — leaves them with little choice. They had to sell to the highest bidder.

But the notion that maximizing shareholder value should be the first impulse for investors in news poses complex questions. What if everyone involved understood that journalism is a complicated investment, creating value for all stakeholders — the community, the employees, the audience — as well as the shareholders?

In an essay this week for Poynter, Al Tompkins imagined a world where corporate motives didn’t clash with what Nelson Poynter called the “sacred trust” of journalism.

Tompkins devised an imaginary note to potential news investors that would give them a sense of what they’re getting into. It included this line: “Other investments may produce bigger financial returns, but you are investing in a company that supplies you with essential information that any society needs to self-govern responsibly.”

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> New report quantifies ‘stunning’ collapse of local news (Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News)

The United States has experienced a decline of about 75% in local journalists since 2002, down from 40 journalists for every 100,000 residents to just 8.2 journalists now, according to a new report by Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News. “The evaporation of local news coverage has hit small towns and big cities, suburbs and rural areas. Even as the country has grown, we’ve lost journalists,” said the report, which is based on the group’s Local Journalist Index. Large swaths of the country have “severe shortages,” it said.

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Culture & Inclusion

>> New from API: Onboarding isn’t just for new hires — it helps you build relationships in your community, too (Better News)

Onboarding shouldn’t be just a mandatory march through training and paperwork, but rather an engaging — even fun —  way to build lasting relationships both inside an organization and in the community. “Taking the time to [onboard] properly is one of the most powerful things that you can do for newsroom culture,” Priska Neely, training manager at Report for America, told P. Kim Bui. Drawing from the experiences of participants in the Table Stakes Local News Transformation Program, Bui outlines ways newsrooms can make onboarding better.

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Community Engagement & Trust

>> Disaster 101: Your guide to extreme weather preparation, relief, and recovery (Grist)

The climate publication Grist has developed a “Disaster 101” downloadable toolkit that includes information about how to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters like hurricanes, floods or wildfires. The guide is designed in a way that allows other newsrooms or community organizations to adapt it for their own residents. It also explains the roles different agencies have in disasters and provides people with details on their rights during such situations.

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Revenue & Resilience

>> Hearst to purchase Dallas Morning News (Houston Chronicle)

Hearst Newspapers is purchasing the Dallas Morning News, further expanding its footprint in Texas. Hearst’s portfolio in the state already includes the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News; it bought the Austin American-Statesman from Gannett earlier this year and last year acquired several magazines in Texas, writes Jonathan Diamond. In a memo to staffers, Morning News publisher Grant Moise emphasized the companies’ shared values. “Both organizations are battle-tested, resilient and have learned how to earn and keep our readers’ trust through editorial excellence and ethical, honest reporting,” he said.

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What else you need to know

👞 Substacker Judd Legum on doing journalism that ‘went out of fashion’ (Press Gazette)

🛒 Condé Nast and Hearst strike Amazon AI licensing deals for Rufus (Digiday)

🚫 Survey shows statehouse reporters face growing pushback and shrinking resources (Editor & Publisher)

🎥 Can the New York Times turn its writers into video stars? (New York Magazine)

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Weekend reads

+ Who preserves the homes of Black literary giants? (The Guardian)

+ A new era of internet regulation is about to begin (The Atlantic)

+ Library180, a magazine nirvana in Manhattan’s financial district (The New York Times)

+ Thirty years after New York Newsday, there’s never been another paper like it (CJR)