4 ways local news can build local identity — and bring in new revenue

Local news can add value to our communities by helping people make informed decisions, building connections between the past and present, enriching conversations through complexity or nuance, and bridging individual differences. Leaning into local identity and history can move our journalism from ‘we provide facts alone’ to ‘we provide facts and serve other important community functions.’

For some, the United States semiquincentennial will mark an opportunity to begin collaborations with local museums or history groups. But any interest in collaborating this year speaks to the potential for deeper collaborations beyond the 250th.

Collaborations in this world offer partners extended reach, physical space and sharing of resources to make a bigger impact. They might help build trust, new sources of revenue,  or capacity — and they’re one way to show communities how everyone stewards the local information environment together. 

The American Press Institute heard many opportunities for collaboration at its Local News Summit on Local Identity, History and Sustainability last year. API gathered news leaders in Nashville who spoke with one another about how they have leveraged history, nostalgia, archives, community markers and partnerships to build products, services and experiences that drive revenue.

They asked four summit participants to share more about the ways they are fostering local identity within their communities, and these ideas can serve as inspiration to other local news organizations as they look to build local identity through the semiquincentennial and beyond:

• How local media can harness the history trend. The brand heritage and archives agency History Factory helps organizations make the most of the public’s growing appetite for the past. Jason Dressel shares three steps news organizations can take to engage with their community’s history — and find new sources of revenue.
• Pairing subscriptions with a place of pride. For many Chicago residents, the neighborhood they live in is a central part of their identity. Block Club Chicago uses this acute understanding of readers’ affinity for their neighborhoods to fuel their most successful promotional campaign which typically drives up to a quarter of their annual subscription revenue, writes Lizzie Schiffman Tufano.
• News philanthropy + historical societies: A win-win partnership. The Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation combined supporting local journalism and local historical groups into one membership, resulting in an increase of members who donate $500 or more. Julie Makinen writes how news outlets can replicate the partnership mode.
• Create a holiday to celebrate the community. Local podcast and newsletter City Cast Portland partners with the city to throw an annual party celebrating civic pride — and establish itself as an essential community hub, write Andi McDaniel and Giulia Fiaoni.

More on local identity: 4 tips for using history content to build trust with audiences