Good morning, welcome to your week! Today's Media Roundup is brought to you by Esther.

In Nebraska, a weekly paper is filling its community’s need for news — and booze — www.niemanlab.org

Creative Printers is a printing shop that also publishes three weekly community papers. They had space in a back room which wasn't being used as they don't have antiquated printing presses any more, so after surveying the community, they opened a little liquor store in its place.

Now, sales of the papers are up, and they're also selling photos from The Stapleton Enterprise's archives. The place has turned into a community hub, with lots more planned.

This might seem like a niche little diversification study (albeit a fun way to start the week). But the principles here can be applied to pretty much anyone. Researching and setting up opportunities to bring your community together can boost the bottom line. If only Media Voices had a physical HQ...

Instagram Inspiration: Exploring NatGeo’s socially responsible strategy — digitalcontentnext.org

National Geographic is an Instagram powerhouse. It tops 175 million followers, which makes it the platform's 12th most followed account. I spoke to NatGeo's Director of Instagram about how they use the platform to reach younger people with key messages about climate, conservation, and our changing world.

The New York Times is making about a third of its newsletters subscriber-only — www.niemanlab.org

It's a bold move from the King of Subscriptions. An estimated 15 million people are reading one of the Times' newsletters each week, and the NYT has said it's now taking a third of them and making them available only to subscribers. Subscriber-only newsletters are both a retention play and a conversion play, as the newsletters are such a vital part of the subscriber relationship.

Paid content prices, in local Big Mac equivalents — whatsnewinpublishing.com

On one level, this is a fun comparison of Big Mac prices in different countries, and subscription equivalents. But it also makes some valuable points about the affordability of subscriptions in countries with hugely different price levels and average income rates.

Podcast throwback:

Boom saloon founder Rachel Arthur on democratising creativity — voices.media

For a masterclass in developing a business model that supports a community, this episode from boom saloon founder Rachel Arthur is a must-listen. Their triple-stranded business is made up of a print magazine, boom projects, and a creative studio called the boom room, with the overarching aim of using media as a force for good.

Help us cover our costs with a Ko-Fi/Big Mac subscription 🍔 — ko-fi.com

In the UK, a Big Mac is £3.19. So for LESS than the price of a Big Mac per month, you can support us via Ko-Fi! Or you can throw us the equivalent of one Big Mac as a one-off donation. Either way, it's very much appreciated by us as the podcast and newsletter is still something we do "for fun".