204 Arizona's newspaper and broadcast associations merge into Arizona Media Association.
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
Release Date: 09/06/2023
234 Local Media Association and Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association partner to create fundraising lab
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
(LMA) and the (PNA) have united to establish the Pennsylvania Fundraising Lab. This groundbreaking venture is designed to empower Pennsylvania news organizations with the expertise and understanding needed to secure philanthropic funding for their reporting projects , thereby enhancing their financial sustainability and enabling them to continue delivering high-quality journalism. In a recent episode of 'E&P Reports,' Frank Mungeam, LMA chief innovation officer, and Bill Cotter, PNA president, shared the success story of the LMA’s Lab for Journalism Funding. With over $23...
info_outline
233 New York State implements historic tax credits to support local journalism.
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
In a groundbreaking move, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a 2025 state budget that includes $90 million in tax credits for local news media outlets, marking a significant victory for the press and local journalism. , which helped champion this legislation, initially formed with 100 news publishers in February 2024 to work together and advocate for what was originally introduced as the In just a few months, the coalition expanded to over 200 news outlets. Rebuild Local News, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advances public policies to help local news and community journalism,...
info_outline
232 Facebook blocks State’s Newsroom’s Kansas Reflector: A threat to free press and first Amendment?
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
In a dramatic turn of events, the , a news affiliate of the non-profit , found itself at the center of a contentious battle with Facebook. Sherman Smith, the Editor-in-Chief of the Kansas Reflector, revealed the unfolding saga during an exclusive interview with Mike Blinder, Publisher of E&P Magazine. The saga began when Facebook rejected an editorial titled "" authored by Dave Kendall and published on the Kansas Reflector's website. The piece highlighted Facebook's rejection of Kendall's documentary on climate change as too divisive, emphasizing the importance of local media in...
info_outline
231 Addressing America's Divides: The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s newest chapter1
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
For more than three decades, The has stood as the foremost beacon of insight and information for professionals and organizations within the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. Through its printed and online platforms, The Chronicle offers comprehensive coverage of trends, challenges, and best practices in the philanthropic world, serving as an invaluable resource for those dedicated to charitable giving and social impact. On April 2, 2024, The Chronicle embarks on a new chapter, launching an innovative line of coverage aimed at dissecting America's widening divides and the burgeoning...
info_outline
230 Understanding the skills necessary to lead the newsroom of tomorrow
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
While attending the Executive Program in News Innovation and Leadership at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, Laura Krantz McNeill decided to interview 26 separate media leaders she considered to be “change-makers and innovators” and asked them what they think the essential skills that the next generation of news leadership will need to move us closer to a healthier and more sustainable future for the news media industry.1 The result of that work is a self-published paper entitled " which was later posted by Nieman Labs. McNeill, who began...
info_outline
229 The “whats, whys and hows” of The Association of Community Publishers (ACP)
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
(ACP) is a dynamic organization dedicated to supporting and empowering free, community-based media outlets across the United States. Founded to promote excellence in local journalism and foster collaboration among community publishers, the ACP represents a diverse array of publications, including newspapers, shoppers, magazines, directories and digital news platforms — all with no paid access to the print or online content they provide. This year's annual conference will be held May 1-3 in Norfolk, Virginia and will offer programs mainly centered on building revenue. It also will feature a...
info_outline
228 Exploring their new book: “What Works in Community News,” from authors Ellen Clegg & Dan Kennedy
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy have become recognized and respected news media analysts with their highly listened to podcast series: “” However recently, Clegg a three-decade Boston Globe veteran who helped get a few Pulitzer Prizes for the paper and Kennedy a Northeastern University journalism professor who writes the , have released a critically acclaimed book entitled: “,” that explores how a number of news media operations seem to be on their way to finding sustainable local journalism business models. Some of the local media companies they examine, include the , a digital...
info_outline
227 A look at the broadcast news industry from RTDNA CEO Dan Shelley
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
In September 2023, on the Arizona Newspapers Association and the Arizona Broadcasters Association merger. In the past year, there have been several legacy newspaper and public media mergers, such as , The and the . Many news media pundits predict that, in the very near future, we will see more broadcasting and newspaper newsrooms working as one to compete for larger audiences and achieve new economies of scale to achieve sustainable business models. For this reason, E&P sought insights from the Radio Television Digital News Association's CEO & President Dan Shelley on how the RTDNA...
info_outline
226 A frank discussion about public media with industry expert Tom Davidson
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
Recently, Public Media Consultant Tom Davidson wrote an op-ed published in “Current,” the industry’s quarterly trade magazine, “decrying the lack of awareness in public media about , the $500 million foundation effort to reinvigorate local news.” Since then, National Public Radio (NPR) published its own to support public media, and the (formally the Public Radio Program Directors Association) added a panel to their fall conference that addresses the same issues. However, Davidson still sees a major disconnect within public media on how the industry itself sees its place...
info_outline
225 Jeff Jarvis and Steven Waldman debate the hard questions facing the news media industry.
"E & P Reports" from Editor & Publisher Magazine hosted by Mike Blinder
On February 4th, 2024, the president of Rebuild Local News and co-founder of Report for America, , penned an op-ed for E&P Magazine entitled “ In the very first sentence of the piece, Waldman took aim at the January 24th, 2024 article, “” which was penned and published by Jeff Jarvis, author and former professor and director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. In the article, stated, “Giving more money to old media is throwing good after bad.” Jarvis stated, “The old news industry has failed...
info_outlineLisa Simpson, the former executive director of Arizona Newspapers Association, and Chris Kline, the former president/ CEO of Arizona Broadcasters Association, have known each other for years since they both lobby on issues that affect their association's members similarly. The major difference between the two is Lisa's members are from newspapers, and Chris' are broadcasters.
But in a world where more and more media content is being shared and consumed on the same devices by the same audiences, to some, it seems archaic and a bit outdated to define a news media company primarily by its legacy platform of delivery (such as a press or transmitter). Moreover, most agree that a broadcaster and a legacy news company compete less with each other for ad dollars, where both lose the lion's share of local media revenue to big tech companies like Google and Meta/ Facebook.
Add to that how corporate media empires have grouped more and more local outlets under common ownership, depleting association membership numbers. It seemed only logical to these two state media leaders that merging resources would be a logical way to strengthen the support provided to both association memberships.
So on August 20, 2023, history was made when two separate media associations that for years considered themselves competitive for audience and ad dollars — Arizona Newspapers Association and Arizona Broadcasters Association — announced that their boards approved that they would become one on September 1, 2023. Arizona Media Association was created.
Both Kline and Simpson will remain on board in leadership roles, with Kline taking the "top chair" of CEO and president. Kline was quoted in the initial announcement: "There is a significant amount of line-blurring between platforms. For most news consumers, all local outlets fall under the umbrella of local news, making the merger a logical next step for the industry organizations in Arizona." He added, "It gives us a lot of extra room to stand boldly," Kline said of the partnership, "with hundreds of companies across platforms.”
In this episode of "E&P Reports," we explore the groundbreaking move by two organizations that considered themselves competitive for decades. Arizona Newspapers Association and Arizona Broadcasters Association merge into Arizona Media Association. We chat about the "whys and hows" of the union with Lisa Simpson, the former executive director of Arizona Newspapers Association, and Chris Kline, the former president/ CEO of Arizona Broadcasters Association. We also learn their future plans for advancing the industry and serving their combined membership.