Project Oasis

I cannot remember how and where I came across this but obviously, one way or another, I did.

Project Oasis “is a collaboration between UNC-Chapel Hill, LION Publishers, Douglas K. Smith and the Google News Initiative to map and showcase the growing number of locally focused digital news publications in the U.S. and Canada and to share information about the choices they have made along their pathways to sustainability, as well as the most relevant research in this space”.

You can find their website right here.

They also have a long article available on Medium that begins like this:

The need for good, accurate information for local communities has never been more clear. LION Publishers is filled with more than 200 members because they saw the need in their communities for news and information. They’re not alone; based on what we know, more than 800 digital local news sites exist in the U.S. and Canada. So you’d think there’s plenty of information about how to get started, right?

There isn’t. And for aspiring founders, it’s been a problem.

You can find that here. Chris Krewson wrote it and published it on March 18, 2020.