Staying local, staying strong: Jeffrey Warshaw on what still works in media
Jeffrey Warshaw, the founder and CEO of Connoisseur Media, remains steadfast in his belief that localism is the soul of sustainable media. While others scale back or chase the latest tech trend, Warshaw doubles down on a traditional formula — deep community roots, vibrant local programming and a service-first mindset.
“What pisses me off is when companies approach things by what’s important to them rather than what’s important to their listeners or their advertisers,” Warshaw said. “We believe in a big local presence and lots of local programming and events, community involvement and a big salesforce.”
Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.
Related Knowledge Center: Local media
The hollowing out of the local news ecosystem has been well documented; in some communities, efforts are underway to reverse the growing news desert.