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Most website traffic is non-local for biggest UK regional news brands — pressgazette.co.uk

The notable lack of 'local' in local news has been a growing joke in the UK for some time now. So I doubt this analysis from Press Gazette will be surprising. Nonetheless, it's always good to have actual evidence to back up those uncomfortable hunches.

Of the 50 sites studied, only eight drew at least half their UK audience from the region in which they were based. Twenty brands received less than a third of their UK digital audience from the area. "Stories written to capitalise on SEO trends and popular national stories can draw in non-local visitors to local news sites," the story diplomatically notes. In short, incentivising traffic directly conflicts with incentivising relevant local coverage.

It's not a good look for Reach especially, whose titles dominate the bottom of the table. But it's a hell of an opportunity for local news start-ups who want to focus on actually serving their titular regions.

“An immediate drop in content”: A new study shows what happens when big companies take over local news — www.niemanlab.org

More data on the local news problem from the US this time - again, quantifying something we all knew already. A study has found that when local titles are acquired by corporations, there is a significant decrease in the volume of local content produced by those papers. The study's authors were especially shocked at the immediacy of staffing changes and drop in content following acquisitions.

Echo of Moscow’s Alexei Venediktov on the station’s closure, press freedom in Russia, and the evolution of Putin’s propaganda — www.fipp.com

Before the war in Ukraine began, Echo of Moscow was one of the last remaining independent press outlets in Russia. On March 1st, the radio station was taken off air by Roskomnadzor, and two days later the Board of Directors voted to close it down. The 31yr old outlet’s only ever serving Editor-in-Chief, Alexei Venediktov, talks to FIPP about press freedom in the country, fake news, and his account of the series of events that led to the station’s closure.

Maintaining subscriber acquisition and retention momentum post-Covid: Insights from WaPo and Arc XP — whatsnewinpublishing.com

I suspect the 'significant uptick in digital subscription spending' noted in the introduction of this report is now outdated, given the cost of living crisis is really beginning to bite subscription services. However, there are some timeless titbits in here about best practice for converting and retaining subscribers from a new report by the Washington Post's Arc XP and Digiday.

This week's episode:

Lessons from award-winning podcasts — voices.media

Catch up with our mini podcast series talking to the winners of 2020 and 2021's Publisher Podcast Awards. Whether you're thinking of launching your own podcast or want tips to level up your strategy, there's a wealth of knowledge and podcast mastery in these 15 minute episodes.

Become a supporter of Media Voices — ko-fi.com

We may be on Easter break from the podcast, but you may have noticed it's not much of a break! Peter has been hard at work putting out the Lessons from award-winning podcasts episodes, Chris has penned some analysis, and I'm squeezing every spare minute around a vomiting toddler putting the finishing touches to this week's Publisher Podcast Awards. If you're able to contribute anything either as a one-off or a subscription to keep us going, we really appreciate it.