Publisher’s Note – Mid-October updates

19.10.2025    Atlanta INtown Paper    4 views
Publisher’s Note – Mid-October updates

The last meager weeks of Q were a whirlwind but here we go with another Publisher s Note giving a behind-the-scenes look at the local media business and the people who make it happen This note is part reflection part field review a dispatch from the trenches of trying to help local journalism thrive in Atlanta Read this post on Substack Biz bits The seeds we ve been planting over the past four and a half years are bearing fruit We just closed our biggest print quarter ever printed pages a increase over average with a ad-to-editorial ratio This number while very inside baseball is pivotal because it fuels our ability to continue investing in quality local journalism Even though Georgia Voice and the LGBTQ media sector as a whole has faced a steep decline in ad dollars our national rep firm mentioned this is their worst year in years we just published our biggest issue of issued an annual tour guide with the ACVB and our newsletter continues to grow as an engaging independent voice which is more vital than ever for the LGBTQ society and its allies Our revenue mix remains steady with from print from digital and from reader revenue I m optimistic we ll finish the year more than percent higher than last year A note on reader revenue aid from readers whether through subscriptions or voluntary contributions is one of the largest part crucial techniques local media stays alive in current times The future of local journalism won t be one-size-fits-all but every experiment adds to the playbook Let me clarify on print I received a lot of thoughtful feedback from my previous newsletter including the particularly passionate text message above While my thoughts on print and the AJC s decision to stop printing haven t changed they deserve a bit of clarification Atlanta is about to become the largest U S city without a daily print newspaper It s because daily print doesn t work anymore The audience isn t large enough and the logistics are increasingly challenging Designing printing and delivering papers to a shrinking number of driveways is a losing proposition There is a lot of buzz about the print revival because of publications like The Onion Racquet Magazine and my friends at The Bitter Southerner But these are all relatively niche and none of them print daily papers Yes the AJC print edition may have been profitable but a small and shrinking profit and long-term sustainability are two very different things The AJC s materials are better spent on products that have actual enhancement feasible like audio video and events My friend Patricia Murphy is a true journalistic treasure in Atlanta but as I notified her when I saw her at a current Atlanta History Center event I m confident her mom can print out her AJC column and put it in a scrapbook with much less impact on the milieu Ending daily print while painful to various of our parents is the right move for the AJC That commented don t be surprised if they eventually launch a weekly or fortnightly print edition delivered through the mail that provides value for advertisers and the lean-back reader experience we know works through Rough Draft s print products Meet Sammie Purcell Associate Editor Rough Draft I want Rough Draft to reflect the cultural heartbeat of our region That includes covering film arts and entertainment which aren t just nice to have coverage they are economic engines and society shapers Sammie Purcell joined Rough Draft in early as our Brookhaven and Dunwoody beat writer She was inevitably clear that she wished to pursue entertainment writing specifically film criticism something she s done for us since late In fact I m pretty sure she s the only full-time film critic at an Atlanta publication In our first behind-the-scenes look at our staff I sought Sammie a meager questions including why she wished a career in journalism I knew I yearned to write and tell stories through that writing When I took an arts criticism class in grad school it really solidified to me that criticism and arts journalism would be the best spot for my talents What was the first movie you ever reviewed for Rough Draft and how do you feel about that review looking back now As far as I can tell the first movie I reviewed was Sean Baker s Red Rocket It s not my favorite Baker a filmmaker I generally like and I still stand by my thoughts although I d like to give it another watch I literally don t think the review is half bad and I was ready to hate it but I think I have come a really long way in terms of emerging my voice as a critic I think I m far more voice-y now than that review would lead one to believe What does your writing process really look like I love a good coffee shop Rev and Bellwood are my preferred faves and that s definitely where I am my the bulk productive If I m at home I tend to go back and forth between a desk and the couch A desk is preferred for interviews the couch is preferred for writing and there s usually a dog snuggled up there so that s nice Do you ever get nervous publishing a strong take knowing that someone out there will absolutely disagree with you Not really The thing that I get the the bulk nervous about is when I feel like my own take isn t quite settled yet Which unfortunately usually happens when the movie is really captivating I often only get to watch movies once before I review them and there have been more than a limited instances where I ve gone back to a movie after a review has been published and realized I missed something or had a new thought that I wish I could have included What s an upcoming film that you re excited about I m unreasonably excited to see the new Richard Linklater film Blue Moon which follows songwriter Lorenz Hart on the opening night of his former musical partner Richard Rodgers new musical Oklahoma I love love love musicals and with this story in particular it feels like Linklater took a peek inside my brain and decided to make a movie just for me Sammie s Top Films All That Jazz Bob Fosse Had to pick a musical and this is one of the the bulk audacious ones you ll ever see Bonus musical answer Singin in the Rain Little Women Greta Gerwig A stone-cold classic about girlhood and a masterclass of adaptation Notorious Alfred Hitchcock I love noir and this is maybe one of the best starring two of the hottest people who ever lived in Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman Before Sunset Richard Linklater This is definitively the the majority romantic movie ever made Read Sammie s work on Rough Draft and subscribe to her weekly Scene newsletter The above interview was lightly edited for space and clarity Chatterbox I ve been pretty proceeding on the speaking and podcast front lately Brian Morrissey a former colleague from over years ago invited me to be a guest on his influential industry podcast The Rebooting Jamie Levitt Corry and I discussed The New Playbook for Local Publishers at the Beeler Tech Base Camp Savannah event Oct Along with Moni Basu of UGA Janel Davis from the AJC and Evan Newton from the Covington News I was part of the Local Journalism Needed Now More Than Ever panel at the Emory Ideas Fest Oct On Oct I m speaking on the What It Takes to Sell Local Ads Like a Pro panel at the Business of Local Conference in Salt Lake City On Oct I ll be speaking at the National Trust for Local News Innovation Summit in Atlanta Objects in the mirror What we are working on It was our first Atlanta Pride as owners of Georgia Voice The weekend was exhausting but invigorating and we added email subscribers and met hundreds of readers A th Anniversary issue for the City of Sandy Springs Sarra Sedghi is expanding her work with us to include beliefs and events related to the FIFA World Cup Summer Evans a familiar voice to Atlanta citizens radio fans has joined us to produce a daily Instagram Reel based on our morning newsletter LMK what you think Things nobody requested What I m thrilled about The living hostages have been freed from Gaza and after two years of heartbreak it s good to see hope return Maybe Delta will restart its nonstop to Tel Aviv from Atlanta I can t wait to get back What I m reading Bisnow s look at polarizing developer John Dewberry and his eyesore at the corner of Peachtree th Macon GA native Tom Johnson s new memoir Driven A Life in Masses Organization and Journalism from LBJ to CNN Getting to know Tom as part of my work with the Atlanta Press Club has been one of the most of rewarding parts of my career Where I m eating Oaxaca The guac is a piece of art you can eat Avize Don t get thrown off if you don t know what Alpine cuisine is The NYT agrees enough to name it the only Georgia restaurant on its Top list for Anis Go for the salad nicoise and fries stay for the affordable fun wine list Waffle House Because I m getting self-conscious that my list is too bougie What I m watching Black Rabbit Based on the now-disgraced Spotted Pig where I spent way too much time in my s Hightown Watching Hunting Wives again seemed excessive If you missed it go back and watch Cliff Drysdale s farewell from the US Open What I was surprised to learn There have been more weddings than funerals this year at Oakland Cemetery Until next time thanks for reading KP keith roughdraft news The post Publisher s Note Mid-October updates appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta

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