Four golden opportunities for indie newsrooms, with Joe Mitchell of PINF

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This week is Indie Week, a week-long campaign celebrating the unsung heroes of independent journalism, and bridging the gap between journalists and their local communities.

The reality is that running an indie newsroom is a tough gig. They face many of the same industry-wide challenges, but with smaller teams and resources. However, there are also upsides to being a leaner outfit.

In this week's podcast, we speak with Joe Mitchell, deputy director of the Public Interest News Foundation, which has recently published two major reports into the indie news sector: its PINF Index, offering a nationwide profile of indie news organisations and their operations, and its new Survey of Indie News Audiences, providing a glimpse into their news consumption habits.

We will unpack the key trends reshaping how independent outlets connect with readers:

• The explosion of growth around newsletters as a low-tech solution for community engagement
• Why indie newsrooms are sitting on the fence about social media platforms
• Why many are testing social video, but not sticking with it as a strategy
• The surprising discovery that many loyal audiences don't realise paying is an option

Listen next - Work smarter, not harder: six lessons from Newsrewired

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