The Future of Local News
“Without a free and independent press, there can be no democracy.”
— Walter Cronkite, anchor CBS Evening News
Welcome to the future of local news.
The Problem:
When local newsrooms close, democracy suffers as a result.
The Existing News Model Is Dead
Since 2008, hundreds of U.S. newspapers have ceased to exist. Well-known and well-funded online news brands have failed, merged, or severely cut services. Local TV stations were purchased by conglomerates who cut reporting capacity to reduce costs and increase profits. Subscriber counts, advertising revenues, and “if it bleeds, it leads” journalism became the norm, reducing the quality of local newscasts and accountability of government leaders.
Many factors contributed to these failures, but a common thread is that news organizations have been forced to divert financial resources away from their core competency—reporting the news—and become things they are not, such as tech companies and customer service providers. In its heyday, newsrooms didn’t worry about subscriber growth, UI/UX design, direct customer support, internet connectivity, or social media costs. But now they do. The result is weakened news organizations with fewer resources to report stories that matter.
Adding to the problem, cord-cutting is beginning to have a significant negative impact on traditional newsrooms’ advertising revenues. Analysts believe that station owners may soon no longer have the financial resources to sustain local newsrooms. When that happens, consumers will have few choices for impartial local journalism other than social media or partisan websites.
The Solution:
Reimagining how news is reported, funded and distributed.
Bringing Local News to Where Consumers Are
Imagine you had a clean sheet of paper and you could reinvent every aspect of the local news industry top to bottom and without limitation for the largest, fastest-growing platforms on Earth. What would you do? N2 Media Holdings is the first company to recognize, visualize and produce original local news content designed specifically for viewing on a major streaming platform.
Moving far beyond simply rebroadcasting legacy 30-minute local newscasts, N2 takes full advantage of streaming’s strengths and opportunities and completely reimagines how stories are reported and how newsrooms are managed and funded.
Freed from time and revenue worries, N2’s state-centric local focus, locally-assigned reporters will produce daily enterprise, investigative and human interest stories that truly inform the public at a level of sophistication and depth they so desperately need. When launched, N2 will transform the local news industry for decades to come.
The problem is complex. The solution is simple.
We’ve developed a plan of action to reinvent local news. To learn more about our vision, take a deep dive into these sections.
