The Clarendon Enterprise successfully completed an exclusive training program leading up to its 145th anniversary last week with the purpose of positioning the Texas Panhandle’s oldest newspaper to continue to serve Donley County into the future.
The Google News Initiative Foundations Lab, which began in October 2022 and wrapped up on May 23, 2023, was designed to build digital capabilities and technology infrastructure within small to medium-sized news organizations. The program was launched in English in the United States and Canada and was conducted in Spanish in Latin America.
The Enterprise was one of only two newspapers in Texas selected to participate in the program, and there were only 14 publishers selected in the United States and just 34 organizations in all of North, Central, and South America.
“This was a rare opportunity for us to have access to world-class training and technical expertise,” said Enterprise publisher Roger Estlack. “By collaborating with leaders in digital publishing and sharing ideas with publishers in the US and Canada, we were able to learn about best practices for reaching our readers while also developing strategies to insure the sustainability of our historic publication.”
Throughout the program, participants received customized coaching and hands-on support, learned from industry experts, and collaborated with other cohort members.
Participating organizations first set up technology building blocks (e.g., Google Analytics, optimizing core web vitals), developed operational muscle and discipline to support sustainable growth, and established digital-first workflows that nurture readers down the audience funnel from awareness to engagement and, ultimately, to financial support.
Each news organization then transitioned to an intensive phase, where these new capabilities are implemented in pursuit of either reader revenue or advertising/sponsorship revenue goals.
Among the results for the North American cohort: Participating teams collectively grew newsletter and known audiences by 44 percent, active users by 14 percent, increased page speeds by 27 percent, and improved average search position by 17 percent during the nine-month Lab.
The Lab is delivered in partnership with Blue Engine Collaborative, a consortium of mission-driven consultants, coaches and advisors focused on driving digital audience growth, revenue, and long-term sustainability.
“The Google News Initiative has been a great partner with the Enterprise over the last three years,” Estlack said. “We received a GNI grant during the first year of the pandemic that was very helpful; and since then, we have participated in several smaller GNI workshops prior to applying for the GNI Foundations Lab. We are extremely grateful for the support Google has provided us in particular and local journalism in general.”
Selected participants in the GNI Lab were:
In Canada, Shootin’ the Breeze in Alberta, Chek News, Daily Hive, Energetic City and Times Colonist in British Columbia, La Liberté in Manitoba, and Chesterville Record, Fort Frances Times, Rabble and The Review in Ontario were selected.
In the United States, El Latino, India Currents, San Francisco Examiner and Santa Monica Daily Press in California, The Atlanta Voice in Georgia, Honolulu Star-Advertiser in Hawaii, The Current in Louisiana, Native News Online in Michigan, Adirondack Explorer and New York Amsterdam News in New York, The Charlotte Post in North Carolina, Dallas Free Press and The Clarendon Enterprise in Texas, and The Washington Informer in Washington, D.C. were selected.
In Latin America, El Eco, El Litoral, La Gaceta and La Nueva Provincia in Argentina, Diario La Tribuna in Chile, Crónica del Quindío, La Silla Vacía and Noticias Uno in Colombia, el Periódico de Guatemala in Guatemala, La Prensa in Honduras, El Imparcial de Oaxaca, Noroeste and Prowell Media in Mexico, La Prensa in Nicaragua, and Panamá América were selected.
The Google News Initiative is Google’s effort to partner with news publishers around the world to build a long-lasting, diverse, and innovative news ecosystem. GNI does this by offering training, programs, funding, and products to journalists and newsrooms to help strengthen their work in the digital age.
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