Joseph Lichterman

Introducing the Beyond Print Diagnostic: A new tool to help your print-to-digital transition A free online tool designed to help local newspapers navigate the complex process of transitioning from print to digital business models.

Want to level up your publication’s digital strategy? The Beyond Print Diagnostic has you covered.

Take the free survey to assess where you are in your digital transformation journey and receive personalized recommendations and resources straight from the Beyond Print Toolkit 👇

Today is a good day to support your local public media station. @michiganpublic.bsky.social

A peek beneath the hood of Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s launch Lookout Eugene-Springfield has grown quickly since its launch, thanks to plenty of preparation around revenue, tech, and community listening.

Since its April 2025 launch, @lookout-es.bsky.social has attracted over 1,200 paying members — generating $228,000 in reader revenue — and booked $212,000 in advertising. But as founder Ken Doctor notes, “This is not a story about money. It’s a story about connection and hope.”

The future of local news starts here: Creators, AI, and lessons from the 2025 Reimagining Philadelphia Journalism Summit How news leaders in Philadelphia are building a foundation for the future of journalism through content creators, AI tools, and fresh talent.

At the 2025 Reimagining Philadelphia Journalism Summit, we brought together 150 journalists and news leaders to discuss strategies for building the future of local news 🌆💡

From AI breakthroughs to creator partnerships, one message was clear: Innovation is essential to sustainability.

Learning to swim A month into my MBA program, I'm figuring out how to navigate the deep end and learning new approaches to leadership. Plus a picture of my dog.

Look at this picture of my dog and read my newsletter about what I've learned in the first month of my MBA program

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Lessons from the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit: ‘Help the donor have the impact they want to have on the world’ Takeaways from the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit to help with fundraising messaging, cultivation strategy, donor stewardship, and more.

“I look at my job as I’m trying to help the donor have the impact they want to have on the world.” — @kimberlygriffin.bsky.social‬ of @mississippifreepress.org‬ at the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit, hosted with Press Forward. We compiled lessons from the Summit on messaging, stewardship, & more ⬇️

ProPublica Joins Lenfest Institute AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.

Super exciting! ProPublica Joins Lenfest Institute AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program
And apply here to be our AI Engineering Fellow: job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...

Mallory Mitchell speaks at the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit

Kimberly Griffin speaks at the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit

Kimberly Spencer speaks at the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit

Day 1 of the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit, hosted in partnership with Press Forward, kicked off this morning with three of our keynote speakers: Mallory Mitchell of Aligned Strategy, @mississippifreepress.org's @kimberlygriffin.bsky.social, & @kspence09.bsky.social of Colorado Media Project.

Thank god—a real strike against anti-Semitism here

The Houston Landing Is Closing, and Laying Off 43 Employees The nonprofit startup struggled to identify a business model, an editorial strategy, and a large audience.

RIP @houstonlanding.bsky.social
Some amazing numbers in this analysis from @sewell.bsky.social:
Almost $8 million in spending last year, against just $430,000 in new revenue, of which only $25,000 in major gifts.
www.cjr.org/news/houston...

These are valuable insights into how @lenfestinstitute.org has conducted community research in Philadelphia to inform its grantmaking.

Oh this is nothing new — Michigan has consistently disappointed on a number of issues for years now. But it’s still bad news and a dangerous precedent.

UMich announces cuts to all DEI programs The University of Michigan announced cuts to campus-wide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives Thursday, effective immediately.

The Michigan Daily has good coverage of the University of Michigan’s decision to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

The University’s cowardly capitulation is antithetical to its supposed values. This is not what the leaders and best do.

www.michigandaily.com/news/news-br...

The disappearing of Rumeysa Ozturk is something I never thought I’d see in America | Will Bunch Masked federal agents in an unmarked vehicle snatched a Tufts student off the street for an op-ed she wrote in a college newspaper.

"It’s hard not to think that the American thought police have disappeared a promising student into their gulag archipelago for the alleged 'crime' of publishing their political opinion in a college newspaper." - @willbunch.bsky.social in @inquirer.com www.inquirer.com/opinion/rume...

Go Blue

With Voice of America silenced, could U.S. public media outlets be next? | Opinion The president's decision to shutter the global news organization portends ever more troubling repression of independent journalism in the United States, Jim Friedlich writes.

“The domestic threat to U.S. public media has become even more apparent as the administration chooses to shutter American media abroad,” writes our Executive Director and CEO Jim Friedlich in response to the decision to silence Voice of America. Read his full op-ed for @inquirer.com ⬇️

I'm glad to work at @lenfestinstitute.org every day, but the news today is a good reminder of why the Institute's nonprofit structure is so valuable and important

Want to build a thriving news ecosystem? We’re here to help A new series sharing practical lessons on building a thriving news ecosystem from the Knight Communities Network.

Want to build a thriving news ecosystem in your community? We’re here to help. We’re proud of our work building a local news ecosystem here in Philadelphia, and we’re sharing tips for other cities as part of a new series from the Knight Communities Network ⬇️

"As fellow Philadelphia newspaper publisher Benjamin Franklin said, 'We must hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall hang separately.'"

my favorite @lenfestinstitute.org tradition: local news valentines

Preparing for the Onslaught Journalists need to come to terms with our new reality.

Joel Simon of @newmarkjplus.bsky.social’s Journalism Protection Initiative is sounding the alarm in @columjournreview.bsky.social: It’s time for newsrooms to band together to prepare for an onslaught of threats to the free press by the Trump administration.

All legitimate, self-respecting, White House reporters should boycott events until the Associated Press, one of our most important institutions, is allowed back in. This is outrageous.

Lenfest Institute and Knight Foundation launch Knight Communities Network to support local journalism funders The Knight Communities Network will support local journalism funders working to build news ecosystems and establish Press Forward chapters.

In partnership with @knightfdn.bsky.social, we’re launching the Knight Communities Network, a new peer-to-peer learning environment to support local journalism funders working to build sustainable news ecosystems in their communities as part of #PressForward.

The (nearly) full list of Good Daily’s AI-generated local newsletters Nieman Lab’s public database of the AI newsletter network operating in over 300 towns and cities across the U.S.

A couple weeks ago, I published a story on a network of AI-generated local newsletters quietly operating in 47 states across the U.S.

Today, @niemanlab.org published a database of all the Good Daily newsletters we've identified so far –– over 300 of them. www.niemanlab.org/2025/02/the-...

The spineless cowardice of the NCAA's anti-trans swerve A decade ago, the NCAA stood up on trans issues. Now that trans people are under attack, they've given in to bigots.

in 2016, Charlie Baker and the NCAA took pro-trans stances. In 2025, they instantly gave in to transphobia to stay on the good side of Trump and Congress.

In doing so, they've helped give cover to all the other anti-trans garbage these bigots will try to pull.

open.substack.com/pub/rodgersh...

Thinking about what Campbell said after the loss to SF last yr: "I told those guys, 'This may have been our only shot.' Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? No. However, I know how hard it is to get here. It'll be twice as hard to get back to this point”

I hope the Lions get back, but who knows

So Jeff Daniels singing about breaking the curse of Bobby Layne maybe wasn’t the best idea

also the explicit Trump shoutout feels like a preview of the next four years.

Okay back to slowly dying while watching this game bye

The lions are imploding but at least we still have TikTok.

Oh wait.

2025 Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit The 2025 Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit is May 20-22, 2025 in Philadelphia. The Summit is hosted by Press Forward and The Lenfest Institute

. @lenfestinstitute.org is thrilled to partner with #PressForward to host the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit.

Join us in Philly in May for 3 days of workshops & networking all about philanthropic fundraising to support great local journalism. It's free! www.lenfestinstitute.org/solutions-re...