Newsletter

Introducing the Beyond Print Toolkit

Local newspapers need to evolve if they want to continue to play their essential democratic role in bringing communities together, holding power to account, and informing the public. 

By Joseph Lichterman

June 27, 2024

Across the United States local newspapers — from metro dailies to alt-weeklies and community publications — are making changes to their businesses that once would have been considered radical or a sign of decline: they’re reducing print frequency or even eliminating print altogether. 

The decision to fundamentally change the product that has defined the medium for centuries is necessary for newspapers’ long-term sustainability and will empower news organizations to better serve their communities and reach new audiences.

The Beyond Print Toolkit — created by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and the American Press Institute and provided to news organizations in partnership with FT Strategies — is designed to help local newspapers build engaged digital audiences, create robust new revenue streams, and reimagine the role of print, all while continuing to produce essential journalism that serves their communities. 

We worked with publications who have already undergone print transitions, outlets experimenting with evolving their print products, and leading experts across the field to build this resource guide.

Check out the full Beyond Print Toolkit Check out the full Beyond Print Toolkit

The Toolkit is informed by publications who participated in The Lenfest Institute and API’s Beyond Print cohort, grant programs, and 2023 convening. Beyond Print is supported by an anchor donation from the Andrew and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund and additional funding from The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund. 

There’s no question: local newspapers need to evolve if they want to continue to play their essential democratic role in bringing communities together, holding power to account, and informing the public. 

But even as publishers look toward their digital future, they need to be mindful of the readers who still rely on print. These individuals tend to be older community members or they don’t have easy internet access. Print newspapers are a lifeline for these often vulnerable communities, and publishers have a responsibility to ensure these groups still find ways to access news and information.

This guide covers the essential elements newspapers need to consider as they move beyond print.

 That includes strategies for how to: 

• Build robust digital revenue streams
• Maximize their existing print revenue to create a runway to change
• Develop newsroom processes to serve targeted audiences
• Build digital — and print! — products that serve audience needs
• Adopt technology that supports the journalism and revenue teams
• Create intuitive customer service plans to help retain and grow subscribers 
• Implement clear communication plans to help constituencies — both external and internal — navigate change
• Rethink their manufacturing processes 

The Beyond Print Toolkit covers each of these components in individual sections. Each section includes an overview of key strategies to understand, metrics to track, ideas for experimentation, and practical tactics for how to implement them into your workflows. There are case studies, templates, and samples throughout the Toolkit — including sample media kits, examples of call center scripts, and product development frameworks. 

For generations, Americans have relied on their local newspapers. Beyond Print will help ensure that newspapers will continue to be there for their communities for years to come.