Local journalism is in crisis.
An estimated 47 million Americans have limited or no access to local news. Roughly 170 newspapers closed or merged in the past year alone, according to Northwestern University's 2026 State of Local News report.
That's a warning for anyone who makes a living creating content.
Local journalism provides an incredibly valuable service. It holds powerful institutions accountable, informs voters, and helps people understand what's happening in their communities.
So if local journalism creates so much value, why are so many of the organizations producing it struggling to survive?
One reason is the growing gap between value creation and value capture.
- Value creation is what happens when you produce something that benefits other people.
- Value capture is how you turn some of that benefit into revenue that sustains your business.
Local journalists create tremendous value, but much of it benefits people and organizations that never pay for it. The revenue that newsrooms capture through advertising and subscriptions increasingly falls short of what they need to survive.
And this isn't just a problem for newspapers.
You might produce a podcast that helps thousands of listeners, publish videos that teach people new skills, or write a newsletter that changes how people think. But none of that guarantees you'll earn enough money to sustain your work.
What if you could create value in an entirely different way?
That's the opportunity provided by Community Revenue.
When you build a community, you introduce a new way to create value, opening up new ways to capture that value.
Instead of your content being the sole source of value for your audience, you bring people together so they can create value for one another through their relationships, knowledge, support, and collaboration.
These new revenue streams can include paid participation, sponsorships, and partnerships. This diversifies your revenue beyond content.
And you may already have the foundation for this type of business.
The people who follow your content may share challenges, goals, or aspirations that could bring them together.
But how do you know if they're ready to become a community?
Take the free Community Revenue Scorecard to find out whether your audience members would find value in a community and how your business can capture some of that value.
See If Your Audience Is Ready for a Community
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