Welcome back from the holidays. I hope that you enjoyed at least a few restful hours with family and friends.
It’s that time of year, so I want to share a few things that brought the Source to where we are today, and what you should expect from us in 2019.
2018 – A critical transition
Looking back, 2018 was the year Richland Source and our sister sites in Ashland and Mount Vernon began to consistently deliver high-quality local news coverage that:
• kept visitors informed and engaged
• elevated the tone of civic conversation
• re-imagined our relationship with readers
• focused on the future of mid-Ohio
• discovered newsroom partners big and small
• had some fun while we were at it
Our marketing team spun off into its own division, Source Brand Solutions, and now delivers a complete digital marketing solution to clients all over Ohio.
You could say we found our stride. The results — many linked below — grabbed the attention of national heavyweights and in some cases, brought them here to Mansfield. Predictably, success and attention ratchets up the pressure to deliver.
2019 – The year of the membership
This part’s simple. 2019 is about you. It’s about the experience you have with us in person and on every digital platform. It’s about listening to what you want, while paying attention to what you’re reading and delivering on both. It’s about doubling-down on Solutions Journalism in ways that go beyond words and pictures. It’s about creating groundbreaking partnerships like Thrive!, which launches in February in partnership with OhioHealth.
And here’s the other thing to expect in 2019. We’re going to ask you to join us. We will create fantastic reasons to do so, but we’re gonna ask. In person and online. Through the mail and maybe with smoke signals. We are going to ask for your support.
Everybody hates a paywall. Together we will create a thriving membership program that keeps the wall down and makes innovative local news available for everyone.
Here’s to a great 2019,
Jay
Highlights from 2018
We couldn’t believe it either when when Facebook called
When the Facebook Journalism Project invites you to be one of only 17 news organizations in the world participating in a Local News Membership Accelerator, you take that call. It has been a great experience to learn from such smart colleagues.
Grant from Lenfest Institute powers OpenSource platform
This competitive grant helped us take our audience engagement efforts to the next level. It powered the technology that runs our OpenSource listening platform. The platform resulted in reader-powered stories that were among our best read this year.
Floored by nearly $70k in support for Solutions Journalism
If you need evidence of how much a city might value local journalism that looks forward, outward, and upward in its storytelling, look no further than Mansfield, Ohio. Our Newsroom Partners took Mansfield into the national spotlight again and again.
Mansfield Rising re-imagines Mansfield from the inside out
We collaborated with 15 citizen bloggers and the Richland County Foundation to chronicle their fact-finding trip to SXSW in Austin, TX. The trip was the first step in the creation of the Mansfield Rising plan for Mansfield’s downtown.
Gray Matters begins a yearlong examination of aging in Ohio
A Solutions Journalism project focusing on the aging population and their caregivers in North Central Ohio. This project has gained audience steadily, and is forming a growing community around the work of Courtney McNaull, Noah Jones, and Emily Dech.
Rising from Rust looks for ways back to the future
In March, we launched a project titled Rising from Rust, detailing the community’s turn from its rust belt past to a 21st century future. The work of Brittany Schock and Tracy Geibel has garnered national attention and surfaced real-world solutions.
Sellout crowd fills Ren for “A Murder in Mansfield”
If there were more people in the Renaissance Theater this summer, we’re not sure when that would be. A collaboration with the Ren brought 2,400 people together over two days to celebrate the courage of Collier Landry and welcome him home.
The Richland Source Podcast Network
Podcasts by Richland Source reporters and community members, including “The Open Mic Podcast,” “Why the Hell Am I Here?” “West 4th and Goal,” and “The Gray Q&A” made our team a leader in the medium and created great partnership opportunities.
People are talking about Mansfield’s local news leader
LION Publishers: The Source finds way to millennials’ hearts
North Central Ohio’s Richland Source has seen a 35-percent increase in readership among millennials over the past 2 years, in large part through a concerted effort involving free music shows with food and drinks included.
The winners of Hearken’s 2018 Champions of Curiosity Awards
Tracy Geibel’s multi-part Open Source story on the Westinghouse property was one of only a few chosen our of 1,700 submissions as a Champion of Curiosity. Tracy led our team in the implementation of the Open Source listening platform.
Case Study: The Richland Source “Healing Hope” Series
How a small newspaper took on the issue of infant mortality, and united the town around solutions with a community baby shower Brittany Schock didn’t set out to become the baby expert of Richland County.
Media Shift examined the success of Newsroom After Hours
Sometimes Jay Allred feels like a concert dad in his newsroom. For the last two years, the publisher of Richland Source – a local news site based in Mansfield, Ohio – has let his reporters throw house-parties. And they’re working.
In Conversation With: Tracy Geibel – The Whole Story
Every month, the Solutions Journalism Network highlights a journalist doing excellent solutions-focused reporting. This month, we’re featuring Tracey Geibel of Richland Source as our Member of the Month.
American Press Institute: How the Source threw a baby shower
Brittany Schock was tapped by the American Press Institute to help other newsrooms learn how she led us in pulling off a community baby shower that served over 500 people in one day in collaboration with nearly two dozen service provider.
