The Chamber Newsroom

Filling the local news gap

 

Key takeaways:

Analyze the local market.
Define the purpose.
Leverage members and partners for content.
Revenue isn’t the reason.

After Jacqueline Pitts graduated from college, she landed her dream job at a politics-focused TV news show, reporting for the airwaves and the accompanying website. A few years later, she got a phone call asking if she would bring her talents to the Kentucky Chamber. “We were the first state chamber to start our own news site, to hire a reporter to report on news for the business community, especially at the capital,” Pitts, now the chamber’s senior vice president of communications and marketing, said. “The Bottom Line was born to fill the gap.”

That news gap continues to grow in communities across the U.S. Over one-fifth of Americans live in news deserts – places with very limited access to local news – or live in an area at risk of becoming one. But if local news does exist, budget cuts and small staff may limit what can be covered. After looking at their local markets, some chambers are taking matters into their own hands, creating news-focused sites to share stories of businesses, the community and the chamber itself.  

Analyze the local market.

Before your chamber decides to fill a local news gap, make sure one exists. “Analyze the local market and see if what you would provide is already being provided,” said Ed Sealover, vice president of strategic initiatives and editor of the Colorado Chamber’s news site, The Sum and Substance. Sealover spent nearly 15 years at the Denver Business Journal covering the capitol and business policy, a niche that no longer gets coverage since his previous position wasn’t filled.

Even with a journalism school in town, the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce saw a space they could fill as reporters are strapped for resources. “We want to provide content for our membership to engage with other members, to engage with the business community,” said Samantha Roberts, the chamber’s director of marketing and communications. “Open for Business is trying to fill a little bit of that void.”

 

Define the purpose.

In Colorado and Kentucky, the purpose is politics. Both state chambers hired former reporters to continue doing just that, focusing on the issues coming out of the statehouse that will impact the business community.  “Find your niche,” Pitts said. “Kentucky politics is mine. People want to know what’s happening with the legislation that affects them directly.”

Sealover is not a member of the chamber’s communications team, and that is by design. While he writes with journalism principles in mind, he is transparent with sources and shares that he works for the chamber. “Nobody gets smarter hearing one side of the story,” he said. “We have the chance to be the known source for really in-depth business policy discussions. If you’re going to put up a news site, let it be a news site.”

In Chattanooga, the chamber’s flagship publication serves a different function. Business Trend features a few topic areas – entrepreneurship and economic development, member news, chamber announcements and spotlights on the leadership development program. One section, Work Smarter, features best practices for different industries. “We have the tools to share people’s stories in a way that’s impactful, that’s meaningful and draws attention without necessarily patting ourselves on the back every single time,” said Abdiel Vallejo-Lopez, the chamber’s senior manager of creative. “We have the brand. We have the platform. We have a reputation in the community for being a reputable source.”

Leverage members and partners for content.

Leaning on members and partners for content can help ease the workload if it aligns with the publication’s purpose. Open for Business has regular sections borrowed from its time as a print product and continues to include them after its transition to digital. One example is Queries & Quotes, basically a member Q&A. An email with questions is sent to a member, and answers come back. “Lean into your membership as much as possible,” Roberts said. “They want to contribute their own content. They want a platform.”

But there is a fine line between storytelling and sharing promotions. “We will stay away from things that sound like a blatant commercial,” said Vallejo-Lopez. The chamber provides editorial guidelines to steer submissions away from that. “If it’s something that benefits the community as a whole, something that relates to Chattanooga and that we feel would appeal to our audience, we’re happy to consider it.” Vallejo-Lopez looks for content from chamber partners that might make sense to feature on Business Trend. A simple request to publish the content and a link to the original source can be an easy way to refresh the site. “Don’t think you have to make the content from scratch every single time,” he said. “Repurposing is very effective.”

Revenue isn’t the reason.

If making money is the sole reason your chamber might undertake a news site, there are better ways to enhance your non-dues revenue. Neither politics-focused site has advertising, but the indirect benefits make it worthwhile. “By putting this out in a neutral way, I’m hoping to grab the attention of not just our members, but of people who may be butting up against our members,” Sealover said. The same rings true in Kentucky. “There’s no revenue being generated directly from The Bottom Line, but the benefit is huge,” said Pitts. Over eight years, the site has garnered one million views. “You can see the chamber’s presence, but it’s not plastered with the chamber’s logo. That’s on purpose because we’re reaching a broader audience that way,” she said.

Chattanooga and Eugene both have ways members can financially support their sites. Eugene is working on building up the revenue side, and the move away from a print product to a digital one helps. Digital ads provide better metrics and reporting, so sponsors can have data to see what’s working. Advertorial content is also a paid opportunity for members to share their stories in their own words.

Vallejo-Lopez said sponsorships cover site maintenance to keep Business Trend going, with six to seven loyal sponsors throughout the year. “They choose Trend because we are a publication of the chamber of commerce, because we are aligned with a lot of what the community is doing and because our readership is very centralized,” he said. “They’re coming in for specific information and that correlates to our sponsors, and it’s a mutual benefit on both parts.”

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