🔶 News Alchemists #67: "Building trust begins by listening."

Hello from Rio (where later this week I will speak at Festival 3i) and welcome back to the News Alchemists newsletter!

And a first welcome to new subscribers from Stealth, The Fix, and you too, my fellow independent consultants.

Last week I received a very sweet notification:

Whether you signed up just a few days ago or you've been here from the start (remember?), I'm sending you a big orange THANK YOU for believing in this project and for welcoming me in your inbox.

For 15 months, this newsletter has been your weekly dose of hope and fresh thinking about journalism's future. You told me it's helped you discover new ideas, saved you hours of research time, and reminded you why this work matters.

The timing of this milestone is rather perfect: I've been thinking a lot about the future of News Alchemists lately, and I just needed a push to turn that thinking into action.

I'll share more about those future plans very soon, but I have to be honest: I need your help. Growth is wonderful but it has a side effect: the cost of the CMS that I use to send the newsletter increased by 59% the moment I crossed the 1,000-readers mark.

This newsletter has always been free, and will always be – meaning these rising costs come directly out of my own pocket. That's why I'm asking you to help with a small one-time donation, if you can:

Not everyone can give right now – I completely understand. But if this newsletter has been valuable to you, and you're in a position to chip in, it will make a difference.

Can't donate but still want to help? Tell the people in your network what you like about the newsletter by sharing this post on LinkedIn, and help others discover News Alchemists. (You can also do it after donating, not only instead of 😉)

The pricing won't increase again until we become 2,500 so let's invite some more friends to join us.

It's time for this week's links. I call this edition: Newsrooms doing cool things we can learn from – with actionable insights you can use from all of them:

• Do you want to get better not only at listening to your community, but also at doing something with what you hear? I can't wait for you to read Link ❶;
• Your newsletter strategy needs a revamp? Jump straight to Link ❷;
• Struggling to decide which parts of your offering should remain free for everyone, and what's for subscribers only instead? Link ❸ is for you;
• Thinking of dropping your paywall entirely? Link ❹, Link ❹!

📚 Enjoy the links!

1. Building trust begins by listening. But it only grows when newsrooms give back 👉 LINK

"When community members see how their feedback shaped an investigation or the development of a new editorial product, they recognize their role in our organization. This allows them to think of themselves as actors, rather than passive participants."

A great article in which 🧞Nicolás Ríos – chief product and education officer at 🧩 Documented – shares four strategies that show how Documented takes action on the things it learns from listening to its readers.

2. Inside Denník N's newsletter strategy: The spine of a 75,000-subscriber business 👉 LINK

"Every email in the portfolio sits in one of two categories: acquisition or retention. Some products bridge both." Great insights by 🧩 Denník N's head of product 🧞Radoslav Augustín in this article, which ends with five takeaways for publishers rethinking their newsletter operation.

3. How Il Post built a sustainable subscription model while keeping its journalism free 👉 LINK

“If you want to convince someone to pay for a product, that choice can’t happen on trust alone. You first need to give people the chance to try it for free.”

Great interview by Cristiana Bedei with 🧞Francesco Costa, editor-in-chief of 🧩 Il Post, on why the Italian organisation landed on its one non-negotiable rule: Il Post’s website (read: the news) stays free.

4. The Salt Lake Tribune just removed its paywall, making its journalism free to everyone 👉 LINK

Last week 🧩 The Salt Lake Tribune in Utah officially removed its paywall – the last step of a long process that started in 2019, when it became the first daily newspaper in the US to be granted nonprofit status. Here's how they got there.

5. Why The Economist is making its podcasts and newsletters more personal 👉 LINK

Interesting to see how the most legacy of legacy organisations is trying to de-legacify itself to start building "a personal relationship between its journalists and audiences". If 🧩 The Economist can do it, starting from not even having bylines on their articles, what's your excuse?

And the most clicked link from the previous edition is... 🥁

“Affiliation, not just access”: Newsrooms try to move beyond membership to a focus on “belonging”

The Texas Tribune, Die Zeit, and Daily Maverick are thinking about richer participation that helps readers not just feel informed, but connected.

Nieman LabSarah Ebner

⇲ The LinkedIn Corner

A section of this email in which I highlight LinkedIn posts written by newsletter readers that, for different reasons, may not make it to the main section, but are still interesting to share. This week...

1. Greg noted something I consider very positive at the INMA World Congress in Berlin: yes, there was a lot of AI – but "often the conversations returned to purpose, journalism, human relationships, and trust."
2. Jazmín shared some of El Surti's big plans for its 10-year anniversary – including the decision to expand its regional coverage beyond the Paraguayan borders.
3. Riccardo is launching a newsletter that will tell stories about Italy through data. It's called 'Mappine' (small maps in Italian). Good start on the branding.

⚙️ Looking for help with newsletter strategy, audience research, or project management? Let's work together.

🌱 Need help growing your media product? I can be your coach.

📢 Wanna promote your products? Sponsor the News Alchemists newsletter.

🤗 Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone you think might like it too.