Nieman Lab daily journalism digest

The Daily Digest: October 06, 2026 Subscribers are up, but growth is down. Here’s what worker-owned Hell Gate is trying next. One tactic: “Turning off the free stuff every once in awhile.” By Sarah Scire. A study of nonprofit newsrooms reveals some cracks in the model’s foundation Plus: Audiences aren’t too keen on AI news anchors, journalists say government funding doesn’t compromise their independence, and disillusionment in the profession is prevalent. By Seth C. Lewis and Nick Mathews. What we’re reading WHRO Public Media / Jaysun Silver and Laura Thompson The truth about a local news website is this Virginia city’s best-kept secret → “For three years, the [Winchester] Gazette has appeared to be a local news outlet. It files stories online about crime, government meetings and community events. But the website has never publicly identified its writers, staff, owners or source of funding. City officials say they’ve never met a person identified as a Gazette reporter at a public event.” Audiencers / John Rahim A smaller subscription for readers who wanted sports and nothing else → The Scottish family-owned publisher DC Thomson is now offering a digital-only sports pack. “Nothing new was commissioned and editorial was not asked to change anything. It sells in-article at £1 for the first month then £4.99, and around 95% of sales happen there rather than on the subscribe page.” TribLive / Megan Trotter Block family must pay millions after U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear appeal in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette labor fight → “Five months after the Block family relinquished control of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, its lengthy battle with the newspaper’s union workers appears to be over.” The New York Times / Michael M. Grynbaum David [First name] got his Skydance. Now he must make tough decisions about news, streaming, and sports. → “CNN’s viewership has fallen behind MS NOW, and its digital offerings are still in the infancy phase. (Fox News is ahead of both.) A subscription news service, which Mr. Thompson started, is expanding to Britain and Canada, but the network has shared few details about the number of paying users. Skydance could nurture this subscription model or take a cue from David Zaslav, the former chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, who eliminated CNN+ just three weeks after it started.” Variety / Todd Spangler Layoffs will be coming after Paramount-Warner Bros. merger → “Integrating two companies will bring change, including difficult decisions that affect our workforce,” co-CEOs David [First name] and Ynon Kreiz wrote to employees at the newly combined company on Tuesday morning. According to a report issued by Los Angeles County in August, the merger could result in the loss of some 4,500 film and TV jobs over three years in L.A. alone. Gallup / Lydia Saad U.S. media trust has improved from last year’s record low → “Nearly all of the improvement in media trust this year reflects an uptick among Republicans. 22% now express confidence in the media, up from a record-low 8% last year and the highest Republican reading since 2015.” CJR / Liz Skalka A former intern bought his local newspaper. Weeks later, he grew subscriptions by 30%. → Evan Newton, 25 years old, bought Georgia’s Monticello News this summer. “I was asked the other day if local journalism was boring, and I was like, ‘It may be boring, but it’s necessary.’” Nieman Lab | View in browser | Unsubscribe You are receiving this daily newsletter because you signed up for it at niemanlab.org. Nieman Journalism Lab · Harvard University · 1 Francis Ave. · Cambridge, MA 02138 · USA