Last week I was invited to attend two conferences on behalf of AAN Publishers courtesy of Lenfest Institute for Journalism and Google News Initiative.

Some clear themes bubbled up which I shared on LinkedIn and figured I’d use to try and reignite my newsletter writing here for Be the Media as well. (Sorry for the hiatus; apparently I took all of last year off. I moved house, just in case that’s an excuse.)

1.) AI. (Ah, good ol’ AI.) Journalists are skeptical by nature, and particularly given the "hallucination"-heavy rollout of AI into the zeigeist. But there should be ways to use "responsible AI" (Google's term) to automate repetitive tasks, improve productivity and help with sales and marketing tools. Maybe it's even possible to trust AI (...but verify...) for deep dives into documents, creating infographics and tasks such as audio summaries or video shorts.

2.) Creators. Publishers can either work with existing news creators or train up staff members to report via video and audio channels with more transparency and authenticity to help make stories accessible to more news consumers. Having a point of view in your reporting isn't the same as opinion—and there's a time and place for both. I'm particularly excited to think about how traditional alt-weeklies are positioned to work with creators and these tools to reach new audiences.

3.)"Next Gen" Audiences. We got details at both conference from the Next Gen News 2 report (next-gen-news.com); its findings are fascinating when it comes to exactly how news-engaged many young readers are (lots) even if they aren't interacting with media the way you want them to. One takeaway: Low friction. Another takeaway: Meet them where they are. How do you put the news where they are in ways the benefit both you and them?

4.) Analog. I don't know if this is a trend or just hopeful thinking, but I will say that there were more print copies and zines shared at these conference than is frequently the case at local digital media conferences. Is printing (or pressing or screening or...) something some of us might employ to remove some friction for those next gen consumers? (If not, at least they'd have something to put on the coffee table next to their Discman and their needlepoint.)

I think there’s a lot of opportunity for local publishers to take advantage of these trends, which I’ll explore over the next few weeks and months. If you’ve got ideas or case studies to highlight, shoot me an email and let’s chat.