We have a really simple model on expansion. Decide how much money you want to pay your reporter. Divide it by the cost of your annual subscription. If you take $55,000 a year and divide it by $155, how many digital subscriptions does that journalist need to produce to be able to sustain themselves? It would take 355 digital subscriptions to pay for a journalist.

I think just having this discussion is a step in the right direction. We need to be aware of what the actual issues are. I think it’s important to hear from everyone in a more formal setting. We’d absolutely be open to having a policy hearing to hear from different media outlets around the commonwealth, and we’re not just talking print media; we’re talking radio and television and all of the above.

Because fewer people read the newspaper, they may not see the public notices. If there’s going to be a big land development meeting, people deserve to know that. I think there is a solution. I would like to see an expansion of an online resource that we can point people to with a drop-down menu, and the public notices just stay there, so there’s a record of what’s been happening.

There is not a one-size-fits-all solution to news outlet sustainability. Sustainability looks different in a lot of different areas. It looks different for a nonprofit vs. a for-profit. It looks different for a news outlet in a smaller, rural community vs. a more affluent urban one. We need a collection of different sustainability approaches that news outlets can experiment with.

Most funders are individuals. You have to figure out an individual giving strategy. Maybe you have a donor who gives $500. Ask them to give $1,000 and see if they can find five other people to give $500. You have to learn how to ask people for money. If you are trusted in the community, people will be open to supporting you. Small donations add up.