Steve Gray thinks local journalism is not producing enough of the right kind of content, which ought to be “providing information every day that meets genuinely felt needs among the people who live in our communities.” Much of what that’s comprised of tends to get de-prioritized as “consumer news,” he says, while it’s really a lot more important to readers than many newsrooms realize.
Future For Local: Selling What, Selling How?
As he looks at the future for local media companies, Steve Gray sees two kinds of companies: (1) Those that continue to focus on traditional media channels — newspaper, TV stations and radio stations — and shrink with the advertising spending on those media. (2) Those that morph into local media houses that can connect any advertiser with any audience through platforms, technologies and channels they own or don’t, to win dollars that are moving into digital advertising and marketing
