How TAPinto’s business model is making it possible for independent entrepreneurs to provide quality local journalism for their communities and operate a successful news franchise business at the same time.
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RSSWhen Michael Shapiro started a local news site for his hometown of New Providence, New Jersey in 2008, he did it for a reason that many of us can relate to: his family.
Michael was an attorney in New York City and spent a lot of the first year of his son’s life in the office. After finding out that his young son needed open heart surgery (he’s ok now), Michael was forced to rethink what he was doing with his life and the seeds of TAPinto.net were planted.
Michael started a local news site for his town and within weeks, residents of neighboring towns Berkeley Heights and Summit were asking if he could do the same for their towns. Flash forward 15 years and this is still the foundation of TAPinto: quality local journalism supported by engaged communities.
Michael doesn’t operate every TAPinto website anymore, instead he’s utilized a franchise model to scale the business and set up individual franchisees for success. TAPinto offers a collaborative network, a business blueprint, and back office and software support for entrepreneurs who want to provide their communities with quality journalism and operate a viable business at the same time.
In the first episode of Small Press, Big Ideas, I talked with Michael about the challenges facing local news, including the decline of hard-copy newspapers and the rise of news deserts.
We also discussed the business side of running a TAPinto franchise, including the types of individuals who thrive as franchisees, as well as the importance of diversifying where your audience is coming from and strategies for building and maintaining audience engagement.
To hear the full conversation, search for Small Press, Big Ideas in your podcast app of choice or use the player above!