Latest E&P Exclusive Reporting

News media grapples with declining obits revenue

Obituaries have long been a reliable revenue stream for newspapers and an important connection to the communities they serve. But as families increasingly turn to funeral-home websites, social media and other digital alternatives, publishers are seeing that business decline. Can newspapers reclaim their place in this changing market? In this E&P Quick Read, Taayoo Murray examines new research on obituary revenue, the competitive challenges publishers face and innovative approaches to preserving a valuable business, a historical record and an enduring community tradition.

Diversification by design: News media publishers pursue multiple paths to revenue

There’s no single bullet for sustaining a profitable news media business, but publishers are finding creative ways to diversify their revenue streams and strengthen audience relationships. From membership programs and community experiences to sponsored podcasts, niche publications and innovative advertising products, opportunities abound. In this E&P “Revenue Roundup,” Bob Miller speaks with three industry leaders — Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell, Publisher Uriah Kiser from Potomac Local News, and Ryan Dohrn, founder and president of Brain Swell Media — about the strategies they’ve deployed, what’s generating revenue today and where they see opportunities for growth.

AI breathes new life into digital archives

Newsrooms have spent decades documenting history, but are they making the most of their own archives? Artificial intelligence (AI) is creating new opportunities for newsrooms to unlock decades of reporting, rediscover valuable institutional knowledge and uncover stories hiding in plain sight. In this E&P Quick Read, Tandy Lau explores how digital preservation efforts and emerging AI tools are helping publishers turn yesterday’s news into a valuable resource for tomorrow’s reporting.

Keep business objectives in focus as you counsel ad customers on 2027 planning

As advertisers begin planning for 2027, media sales professionals may be asking the wrong questions. In her latest “Ad Sales Life” op-ed column, Shannon Kinney explains why conversations shouldn’t begin with advertising budgets, but with clients’ larger business objectives — and how getting into the room earlier can transform a salesperson from vendor to trusted adviser.

ProPublica database helps journalists scrutinize political appointees’ financial ties

Following the money behind federal political appointees can require digging through thousands of documents scattered across government agencies. ProPublica has done much of that legwork for journalists. In this E&P Quick Read, E&P’s Editor-in-Chief Gretchen A. Peck reveals how ProPublica’s “Trump Team Financials” project combines data, technology and accountability journalism.
Latest #NewsMedia Headlines

On Oct. 20, a group of 63 international media organizations led by the News/Media Alliance delivered a letter to senior Australian politicians asking them to reject proposed changes to the country’s copyright laws that would allow artificial intelligence companies to use copyrighted material in training their models.

AI tools helped find one of the most severe online bugs ever. Cyber experts are racing to patch it before hackers use AI to exploit it.
Press Forward has announced the Press Forward Matching Challenge, a new national campaign that will triple reader gifts to local newsrooms in 12 communities this spring. Timed to Local News Day on April 8, 2027, the campaign runs April 1–30, 2027. Every gift to a participating newsroom will be matched by Press Forward and its local chapter, up to a match goal set by each community.
From Los Angeles to Boston, the 2026 Marconi winners showcase radio’s enduring power, excellence and connection to local communities.
Israeli police said they arrested 10 people on Monday in connection with a wave of settler violence that included attacks on a foreign journalist and European diplomats in the occupied West Bank over the weekend.
Latest #NewsMedia Stocks of Interest

Latest "E&P Reports" Vodcast

Local news losses accelerate as digital traffic plunges, Medill warns

The crisis facing American local journalism is no longer a slow, predictable decline. Newspaper closures are accelerating, rural communities are losing their last reliable news sources, and even the digital audiences publishers spent decades building are shrinking dramatically. Northwestern University's newly released 2026 State of Local News Report paints a troubling picture of an industry confronting structural challenges that threaten its future. During a recent episode of E&P Reports, Medill's Tim Franklin and Zach Metzger explained why the situation is worsening — and what might still be done to reverse the damage.

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Your reporting is solid. Can you afford to defend it?

A lawsuit can threaten a newsroom long before a court decides who is right. Holger Roonemaa, head of the investigative and fact-checking desk at Delfi Estonia, says an investigation into a political donor’s influence led to a claim seeking more than €400,000 against the publisher and its reporter. Reporters Shield covered the newsroom’s legal defense fees, helping preserve resources for further reporting. Delfi won in the first court instance, according to Roonemaa, but the appeal remains pending and the investigation remains online.

More revenue, more content, publisher control: Inside XPR Media’s syndication model

More revenue does not have to mean building another sales operation. During this E&P Solutions Series webinar, USA TODAY and XPR Media executives explored how publishers can tap existing agency demand for press releases and paid content, creating an additional revenue stream while retaining control over what appears on their sites.

More coverage where it counts: How The Center Square helps TH Media serve readers across three states

For a news publisher serving readers where Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin meet, regional coverage means following developments across all three states. As TH Media plans for a future beyond its longtime Associated Press relationship, it is learning how The Center Square can help fill those coverage needs.

Amsterdam News grows its legal notice business through an expanded partnership with Column

Amsterdam News is expanding its partnership with Column to strengthen its legal notice operations, create more capacity for growth, and gain access to new high-volume notice business from the large organizations in Column’s Automated Placement network placing across New York.

Helping advertisers get found in AI search: Local media’s next revenue opportunity

As AI changes how consumers find and choose local businesses, publishers have an opportunity to help advertisers remain visible. Duda provides the technology and insights publishers need to improve discoverability, measure business results and deliver those services at scale. The result can be stronger advertiser relationships and new recurring revenue.

When fear of a lawsuit stops the story

A newsroom can win a lawsuit and still be destroyed by it. Years of legal bills, missed deadlines and relentless anxiety can accomplish what an unfavorable verdict never could: silencing journalists and frightening others away from the story. For a small publisher without in-house counsel or deep financial reserves, one legal threat can place the entire organization at risk. International media-freedom attorney Flutura Kusari warns that waiting until a demand letter arrives to build a defense may already be too late.

From Idea to Ad Sales: How AI and Human Expertise Accelerate Publisher Sales

An interested advertiser shouldn’t become a lost sale while your team waits for creative. Mediaferry combines AI-powered ad production with human expertise to help publishers create better ads faster across print, digital and video. In this E&P webinar, Robert Berkeley and Tariq Husain explain how that approach reduces repetitive work and keeps campaigns moving from concept to completion. Watch to learn how faster creative can strengthen sales conversations and help turn advertiser interest into signed business.

How Mentor Medier freed its developers to focus on subscriptions

Mentor Medier’s developers were spending time maintaining article pages and homepages that Francis Lundh believed a specialized provider could handle. As chief product officer of the Scandinavian publishing group and CEO of its technology company, Unite, he wanted that talent focused on subscription products. Moving to Labrador CMS gave journalists more control over daily publishing while allowing the company to step away from custom front-end development. The shift put its development resources behind technology designed to strengthen reader relationships and grow the subscription business.

More coverage. Same staff. How a Tahoe publisher puts The Center Square to work

Rob Galloway already knew The Center Square’s reporting from its daily newsletter. What he hadn’t realized was that The Center Square was an open-access newswire. A sponsored post made that connection—and gave him a way to supplement local coverage with statewide stories his readers had reason to care about. For a newsroom that can’t get to every important story, that discovery opened the door to more coverage of housing, fire and other issues that hit home.

Small publishers can build what the big platforms cannot

A local advertiser may need more than another standard display banner. It may need a podcast recorded at a neighborhood brewery, a sponsored story, a newsletter placement, a print campaign or a large, interactive digital unit that commands attention. Independent publishers can make those choices because they know the businesses, control their inventory and can adapt without waiting for an algorithm. Uriah Kiser of Potomac Local News and Julie Beth Maglio of the Hernando Sun show how publishers can use that freedom to build campaigns the largest platforms are not designed to deliver.