Heavy lift coming in 2024. But first, let’s applaud some great work from 2023.
Disruption across the news industry has been constant since any of us has been in the business, and 2023 was no exception. It’s against this backdrop that I continue to be amazed at the focus on serving communities that our local news organizations have sustained.
As I traveled across the company in the past year to meet with the local teams, I saw firsthand the energy and passion in your plans as you strategize for growth and impact. There were frustrations, to be sure, and questions about when our industry would stabilize enough to allow better traction and consistency in resources.
We’re working hard toward that day. A stronger local news business assures a stronger democracy, and never has that been more important.
In the past year, I continued to work with other local news company leaders in the fight for fair compensation from big tech as they continue to profit from our local content. We have reason to hope for more progress on that front in 2024.
Meanwhile, APG has made changes in the workflow, allowing local news operations to focus on creating content, and our sales teams to focus on building relationships and selling marketing solutions in the local business communities.
In 2023 we:
- finished the build-out of centralized pagination and moved a significant amount of our special section and ad design to a central, specialized APG team.
- consolidated solutions for audience development and customer service.
- introduced new digital solutions and training to the sales team toolboxes.
Decisions on the journalism are, and will continue to be, in the hands of local and regional editors, the people who know their communities well.
In 2024, we will use our new infrastructure to serve external clients in the pagination and design centers. We’ll continue to be a competitive solution in commercial printing, and we’ll introduce new ways to build and retain our subscriber base. We’ll work to strengthen the expertise for growth on the sales side.
Before we get too far into the new year, however, I invite you to spend some time with the best work from our newsrooms in 2023. It really sets the stage for an exciting 2024.
Mark Adams
President & CEO
