NewsBeat

February 2016 NewsBeat 11 Giving communities the keys to our doors Andrea Ianuzzi is editor for AGL Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso. As the publisher of the longest running newspaper in Europe - formed in 1664 - they have a reputation and an extremely venerable brand. But, he argues, that isn't enough to be sustainable in an increasingly digital world. Instead, he argues that focusing on community - a process he calls 'giving the communities the keys to our own doors' - is a vital first step on the road to sustainability: "Six months ago we decided to create a social title; this is not a website, it's only a social title, to share our look and stories to a wider audience. We called it 'The Italian Chronicle', and we created a Facebook page, a Twitter handle, an Instagram account and a Pinterest account." Building a community is a hard task, and when that community is distributed across a variety of social platform is more difficult still. It required thought around which platforms should be used - ultimately they decided against handing over the reins of the Facebook page to the community because of questions of accountability. But the experiment, which is ongoing despite only originally being planned for a July - September run, puts AGL in a good position to take advantage of growing mobile audiences: "We think that social journalism is no more a matter of geographic vicinity or interest proximity, but a question of emotional proximity. We started with 100 followers and in one month we had 1500 followers 30,000 likes to the photos." Sustainability for regional publishers remains a difficult goal. But endeavours like those described above demonstrate that there is no single path to success - even though a few will likely end in failure.— Reprinted from Editor and Publisher — Reprinted from The Media Briefing By ERIK SASS Buffett Buys Virginia Newspaper, BH Media Now Owns 32 here aren't many people who can lift the spirits of a flagging industry all by themselves, but Warren Buffett is one of them. On New Year's Eve, BH Media Group — the newspaper division of Buffett's investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway — announced the acquisition of another small newspaper, signaling the continued confidence of the "Oracle of Omaha" in the long-term viability of local news media as a business. On Thursday evening, BH Media Group announced the acquisition of The Free-Lance Star of Fredericksburg, Virginia — with a daily circulation of 31,700 — from Sandton Capital Partners, an investment firm that specializes in distressed properties. Terms of the deal — which also includes the newspaper's associated printing operation, Print Innovators — were not disclosed. Sandton originally acquired the newspaper in June 2014 during bankruptcy proceedings. The acquisition of The Free Lance- Star brings BH Media's portfolio to 32 daily newspapers, as well as dozens of other publications — many of them serving small and mid-sized communities. However, in Virginia, it also owns one of the larger regional dailies, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as Richmond.com T As noted, BH Media's string of newspaper acquisitions is a vote of faith in the beleaguered business at a time when many have voiced doubts about its future. Back in March 2013, Buffett explained his thinking in his annual letter to BH investors, noting that while newspaper profits will probably decline for the foreseeable future, in the long term, their position as sole providers of local news will ensure their continued existence and vitality. Buffett stated: "Newspapers continue to reign supreme, however, in the delivery of local news. If you want to know what's going on in your town — whether the news is about the mayor or taxes or high school football — there is no substitute for a local newspaper that is doing its job… Wherever there is a pervasive sense of community, a paper that serves the special informational needs of that community will remain indispensable to a significant portion of its residents." Buffett further predicted that "papers delivering comprehensive and reliable information to tightly-bound communities and having a sensible Internet strategy will remain viable for a long time. We do not believe that success will come from cutting either the news content or frequency of publication… Our goal is to keep our papers loaded with content of interest to our readers and to be paid appropriately by those who find us useful, whether the product they view is in their hands or on the Internet." — Reprinted from Publishers Daily

• Cover