A closer look at what happened at the National Trust for Local News — and what may be coming in Maine

Former home of the Portland Press Herald in Maine, now a luxury hotel
Former headquarters of the Portland Press Herald in Maine, now a luxury hotel. Photo (cc) 2023 by Dan Kennedy.

I suspect we’re going to be hearing a lot more about the National Trust for Local News and especially its newspapers in Maine, anchored by the Portland Press Herald. The National Trust’s co-founder and CEO, Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, stepped down last week, and I’ve heard from serious people that substantial cuts may be coming.

While we’re waiting, though, I recommend this thoughtful analysis by Rick Edmonds, who writes about the business of news for the Poynter Institute. He speculates that one reason the National Trust may have run into trouble was that it morphed from a philanthropic venture that acquired newspapers into a nonprofit organization that saw its mission as actually running them.

In an interview last summer, Dr. Hansen Shapiro told Edmonds, “half-joking,” that “we are becoming like Gannett or McClatchy,” two chains notorious for cutting costs at their newspapers through top-down management. The difference was that the National Trust’s management was focused on improving its papers rather than squeezing out every last drop of revenue. But as Edmonds writes in a piece that was published on Thursday:

In practice, though, that meant not only ownership but decision-making had migrated up to a central office. The trust had become out of sync with the mantra that news organizations work best when they are owned and run by those closest to the local communities.

The National Trust’s first move was to acquire 24 weekly and monthly newspapers in the Denver suburbs back in 2021, which Ellen Clegg and I write about in our book, “What Works in Community News.” It later expanded into Maine and Georgia, and today owns about 60 papers.

Last summer, Hansen Shapiro told Edmonds that the National Trust was shifting from 25% investments and 75% execution to the reverse. In other words, what was originally intended as a project to save newspapers from chain ownership and then run them with a light touch morphed into something much more hands-on.

That has played out in an especially painful way in Maine, where Press Herald editor Steve Greenlee left to take a position at Boston University last year (in an email with Edmonds, he cryptically referred to leaving “at a time of great stress”), and Lisa DeSisto, the longtime publisher of the Press Herald and CEO of the Maine Trust for Local News (essentially a subsidiary of the National Trust), abruptly exited from her job in December.

My usual caveats: Hansen Shapiro is featured in our book and has been on our podcast; DeSisto is a professional friend of ours; and we were the guests at a fundraiser for the Maine Trust last October.

Update: Jody Jalbert has resigned as publisher of the Sun Journal of Lewiston, which is a Maine Trust paper. The story is paywalled, but according to Jalbert’s LinkedIn profile, she had been with the paper in various business-side positions since 1988. That’s a lot of experience to be walking out the door.

Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, co-founder of the National Trust for Local News, steps down as CEO

Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro

Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, who co-founded the National Trust for Local News four years ago, is stepping down as the organization’s CEO. Dr. Hansen Shapiro’s announcement arrived in my inbox just a short time ago, and I have not had an opportunity to digest it. I may have more to say in the days and weeks ahead.

Eric Russell covers the story for the Portland Press Herald, which is one of the papers owned by the Trust.

I interviewed Hansen Shapiro for the book that Ellen Clegg and I wrote, “What Works in Community News,” to discuss the National Trust’s role in acquiring a group of weekly and monthly newspapers in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, back in 2021. Ellen and I also interviewed her for our podcast, “What Works: The Future of Local News,” in 2022, and an excerpt is featured in our book.

I can also credit Hansen Shapiro with suggesting that we take a look at NJ Spotlight News, which represents the merger of a website that covers politics and public policy in New Jersey with NJ PBS, the state’s public television outlet. It turned out to be a terrific recommendation, and NJ Spotlight News anchors one of the chapters in our book.

More synchronicity: In 2023, the National Trust purchased the Portland Press Herald and a group of affiliated daily and weekly papers in Maine. Last fall, Ellen and I were the guests of the Maine Trust for a talk about our book that also served as a fundraiser for the Maine papers. In December, though, Lisa DeSisto — a professional friend of Ellen’s and mine — suddenly left as CEO and publisher of the Maine Trust. I suspect there may be more news to come on what’s going on in Maine.

Hansen Shapiro’s original idea for the National Trust was to acquire family-owned newspapers that were in danger of falling into the hands of a corporate chain or hedge fund. And she has succeeded, presiding over the purchase of papers in Colorado, Maine and Georgia. I wish her good luck as she ponders what’s next. Her full announcement follows:

A Founder’s Reflection: On Building and Becoming

When I stepped out of academia four years ago to co-found the National Trust for Local News, I was answering a call that felt bigger than myself. I believed then, as I believe now, in the profound importance of preserving and reimagining our nation’s local storytelling institutions. Like the Nature Conservancy’s work to protect our natural heritage, we set out to conserve and transform the vital institutions that help communities understand themselves and each other.

In these four years, we’ve built something extraordinary together. We’ve demonstrated that a new model of stewardship is possible — one that honors both preservation and innovation, tradition and transformation. We’ve shown that what unites us truly is stronger than what divides us, and that local journalism can be a powerful force for reweaving our civic fabric. The challenges ahead are real, but so too is the strength of what we’ve built together.

As I reflect on this journey, I recognize that the very principles that guided our work — trust in community wisdom, belief in the power of transformation, and faith in our shared stories — now guide me to make a transition. I have decided to step down as CEO and am working closely with the board to transition to new leadership.

This moment arrives not as an ending, but as evolution: the vision that called me to build now calls me to step back, trusting in the foundation we’ve laid and the wisdom of those who will carry it forward. What began as a mission to build has become a lesson in letting go, in trusting that what we’ve created together has its own wisdom and momentum.

I look to the horizon of local news and see the seeds we’ve planted taking root in ways we may not yet imagine. I envision our work flowering into a thousand expressions of community storytelling, each uniquely adapted to its place and people. I see newsrooms becoming not just repositories of information, but sacred spaces where community wisdom is gathered, preserved, and shared across generations. I believe the National Trust will continue to be a crucible where tradition and innovation meet, where storytelling finds new forms, and where the threads of community are constantly rewoven into ever-stronger fabric.

To our generous supporters who believed in this vision from its earliest days: Your faith in what was possible, your willingness to invest in new models, and your commitment to community storytelling have made everything possible. You understood that preserving local journalism requires both innovation and deep respect for tradition. May your courage in supporting new paths forward inspire others to join in this vital work.

To those who will carry this work forward: May you find joy in being stewards of these community treasures. May you have the courage to preserve what is precious and the wisdom to welcome necessary change. May you feel the support of all who have contributed to this mission, and may you trust in the profound importance of your work.

I step back with profound gratitude for how this journey has transformed me even as we’ve worked to transform the landscape of local news. The story of the National Trust continues, evolving as all good stories do. I look forward to watching and supporting its next chapter, knowing that the work of preserving and reimagining local journalism is more vital than ever.

The Maine event: Ellen Clegg and I will be talking about our book in Portland on Oct. 15

Photo (cc) 2022 by Jules Verne Times Two

I want to let you know about one of the biggest events that Ellen Clegg and I have had to discuss our book, “What Works in Community News.” We’ll take part in a public conversation on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. at the Roux Institute in Portland, Maine. The institute is part of Northeastern University. You can register here.

The program is part of the “Newsroom Live” series, sponsored by the Maine Trust for Local News, the nonprofit owner of the Portland Press Herald and a number of other daily and weekly newspapers and digital publications.

The Maine Trust was created several years ago after the media properties were acquired by the National Trust for Local News, a nonprofit that has also purchased papers in suburban Denver and Georgia to prevent them from falling into the hands of corporate chain owners.

We write about the National Trust and include a conversation with its executive director, Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, in our book. In addition, I wrote about the Press Herald’s pre-Trust ownership struggles in his 2018 book, “The Return of the Moguls.”

We hope to see you on Oct. 15.

In Colorado, a used press will help preserve print papers

Photo (cc) 2021 by Dan Kennedy

Colorado media-watcher Corey Hutchins reports that the National Trust for Local News, a nonprofit that works to keep newspapers alive and out of the hands of corporate chain owners, has purchased a used printing press that will serve the two dozen papers it owns in the Denver suburbs as well as papers owned by other publishers. The trust bought those papers, known collectively as Colorado Community Media, back in 2021.

Ellen Clegg and I interviewed National Trust CEO and co-founder Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro and CCM publisher Linda Shapley for our book, “What Works in Community News.” They have both appeared on our podcast as well. When I met Shapley in her newsroom in the fall of 2021, she was in the midst of trying to pivot her papers to digital — but she acknowledged that print remained an important part of the mix for readers and, especially, for advertisers.

“I totally get that there are advertisers out there who don’t necessarily see digital as a way forward,” Shapley said. “But they recognize the fact that this is going to be how people find you. So I don’t see them as playing against each other but as something that can work in tandem.”

Now those papers — as well as papers owned by other publishers who’ve been hurt by the disappearance of Colorado’s printing presses — can continue to be offered in print as well as online.

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The Colorado Sun donates its share of 24 suburban papers and urges they go nonprofit

Photo (cc) 2021 by Dan Kennedy

One of the more innovative efforts at saving newspapers from chain ownership is winding down, although the papers themselves remain protected. The Colorado Sun announced Wednesday that it would transfer its ownership shares of Colorado Community Media (CCM), a chain of 24 weekly and monthly papers in the Denver suburbs, to the nonprofit National Trust for Local News, which led the effort to buy the papers two years ago. The Sun had been given a stake in CCM in return for helping to run the papers.

The reason given for pulling out was that the Sun is in the process of converting from a for-profit public benefit corporation to a nonprofit, which I wrote about recently for Nieman Lab. A story in the Sun that appeared Wednesday urged nonprofit status for CCM as well: “Just as we believe that nonprofit is the right fit for The Sun, we believe it’s a good fit for these weeklies, too. That will be a decision for the​​ Trust and the board of directors of the Colorado News Conservancy, the parent company of CCM.” No money is changing hands. (The Conservancy is the entity established by the National Trust and the Sun to run the CCM papers).

Sun editor and co-founder Larry Ryckman said on X/Twitter: “We’ve been proud co-owners of Colorado Community Media for 2 years & wish it well in this new chapter. They’re doing great work & deserve your support.” Linda Shapley, publisher of CCM, was quoted in the Sun as saying: “I’m grateful for The Sun’s support at a time that was most critical for our future At Colorado Community Media, we’re excited to be part of the evolving Colorado news ecosystem, and we’re dedicated to serving our communities with timely, factual news and information.”

The Sun and CCM are the subject of a chapter in “What Works in Community News,” a book about the future of local journalism by Ellen Clegg and me that will be published in January. In September 2021 I spent nearly a week in Denver reporting on Colorado’s media ecosystem. Obviously that ecosystem is still in flux, but the period covered by our book ends in late 2022.

I believe what was taking place in Colorado back then is a story still worth telling: the founding of the Sun by 10 journalists who’d quit The Denver Post following deep cuts by its hedge-fund owner, Alden Global Capital; the Sun’s early hopes of raising money through blockchain technology; its unique governance structure; and its participation in the acquisition of CCM.

Ellen and I look at our book not as a standalone entity but, rather, as the hub of an ongoing story that also comprises updates to our website, a podcast (Shapley, National Trust executive director Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, and former Denver Post editor Greg Moore have all been guests, and we hope to have Ryckman on once the book has been released), and an evolving social media presence (we’re currently on X/Twitter and Mastodon, but that may change).

So of course we want you to read our book. But we also hope you’ll turn to our other platforms to keep up on the latest.

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Why concerns about the Portland Press Herald’s funding are overblown

Photo (cc) 2018 by Molladams

Recently Max Tani of Semafor and Richard J. Tofel, who writes the newsletter Second Rough Draft, have raised questions about whether the folks involved in the purchase of the Portland Press Herald and its affiliated Maine papers from the retiring publisher, Reade Brower, have been sufficiently transparent in disclosing who the funders are.

The papers were bought during the summer by the National Trust for Local News, a nonprofit that has been involved in several acquisitions aimed at preventing legacy newspapers from falling into the hands of corporate chain ownership. In Maine, Tani and Tofel argue, the billionaire George Soros may have been more deeply involved than was previously known, while the involvement of another billionaire who was reportedly part of the purchase, Hansjörg Wyss, hasn’t been disclosed at all.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is essentially a non-issue. Tofel himself notes that the previous management of the papers remains in place and that “invocations of Soros as a sort of bogeyman have long since become a principal way to dog whistle anti-Semitism; it ranks right up there with ‘globalist’ in this rhetoric.”

More to the point, the Press Herald itself followed up on Tani’s reporting, and it sounds like the full story behind the purchase will be revealed soon. (I was interviewed for the piece, written by reporter Rachel Ohm.) Longtime Press Herald publisher Lisa DeSisto, now the CEO and publisher of the Maine Trust for Local News, the nonprofit that has been set up to own the papers, is quoted as saying, “We want to make more of a splash and have a more comprehensive introduction to the Maine Trust rather than just [putting things out in] pieces. We’re really waiting to announce a broader vision.”

Added Will Nelligan, who’s the Maine project lead for the National Trust: “We will announce that coalition of Maine funders when we announce the Maine Trust.”

No, the announcement didn’t come in September, as had been originally promised. But is that really a big deal as long as disclosure is on its way? The papers themselves, by the way, remain for-profit entities, so it seems unlikely that either the National Trust or the Maine Trust will be looking for ongoing support to prop them up.

If you take a look at the National Trust’s funders, you’ll see that, in addition to Soros’ Open Society Foundations, they include a number of respected journalism funders, including the Knight Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Democracy Fund and the Lenfest Institute, which owns The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Gates Family Foundation, by the way, is a Colorado-based philanthropy that has nothing to do with Bill or Melinda Gates.

When I asked University of Maine journalism professor Michael Socolow to weigh in, he emailed me comments he had previously posted on X/Twitter, noting that Tani and Tofel had emphasized Soros’ and Wyss’ liberal politics but adding they had been unable to back up whether that was relevant. (To be fair, Tofel seemed less impressed with that angle than Tani.) Socolow said:

I’m not sure there’s a story here. Neither Tani nor Tofel specify the ways the new ownership has altered editorial content. They’re seemingly insinuating that the new ownership purchased the newspapers to shape news content for partisan political reasons. But how much disclosure and transparency about Reade Brower and his business interests did these publications publish before the sale? It’s not clear to me why there needs to be a new, and apparently higher, standard simply because the ownership is now non-profit versus commercial. If evidence emerges that the sort of meddling Tani and Tofel insinuate begins occurring, then I agree we have an important story. But we’re not there yet.

Let me end with a couple of disclosures: Ellen Clegg and I interviewed National Trust co-founder and CEO Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro on our podcast, “What Works: The Future of Local News,” and we wrote about the National Trust’s successful effort to save two dozen community newspapers in the Denver suburbs in our forthcoming book, “What Works in Community News.” I worked with DeSisto at The Boston Phoenix and Ellen later got to know her at The Boston Globe, and we both consider her to be a first-rate, ethical news executive.

The purchase of the Press Herald papers by the National Trust was unalloyed good news, and it sounds like the questions that Tani and Tofel have raised will be answered soon.

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The Portland Press Herald and its 21 other papers are sold to a national nonprofit

Portland Press Herald mailbox
Photo (cc) 2022 by Jules Verne Times Two

The news about the news doesn’t get much better than this: The National Trust for Local News will acquire Maine’s Portland Press Herald and its affiliated four daily newspapers and 17 weeklies. The deal was announced earlier today. Although not all details of the sale are known, early indications are that the papers will remain for-profit entities under nonprofit ownership. The papers, known collectively as Masthead Maine, will continue to be managed by chief executive officer Lisa DeSisto.

According to Rachel Ohm of the Press Herald, the National Trust emerged as the buyer after the recently formed Maine Journalism Foundation, or MaineJF, fell short in its efforts to raise enough money to buy the papers on its own. MaineJF, also a nonprofit, then started working with the National Trust. Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, the co-founder and CEO of the National Trust, told the Press Herald that the two organizations are continuing to work together, although it was unclear what ongoing role the foundation might have. The foundation, by the way, would have reorganized the papers as nonprofits; based on Ohm’s story, it sounds like that’s no longer on the table.

The papers were purchased in 2018 by Reade Brower, a printer who acquired them from billionaire owner Donald Sussman. Brower built a reputation as a solid steward who nevertheless was not averse to making cuts in order to stave off losses. Hansen Shapiro would not disclose what the National Trust paid, but it’s likely that Brower could have gotten more from a corporate chain looking to swoop in, gut newsrooms and squeeze out revenues. If that’s the case, then Brower deserves credit for putting his legacy above making every possible dollar.

The independently owned Bangor Daily News remains the only daily in the state that isn’t part of Masthead Maine.

The governance structure of the new ownership has yet to be announced, and maybe even the principals don’t quite know what it will look like yet. The National Trust is best known for rescuing a group of weekly and monthly papers in suburban Denver back in 2021, and now owns them in conjunction with The Colorado Sun, a well-regarded for-profit digital startup.

Earlier:

A new wrinkle in the quest to convert the Portland Press Herald into a nonprofit

Portland Harbor after dark. Photo (cc) 2021 by Paul VanDerWerf.

Brian MacQuarrie of The Boston Globe has an overview of efforts to sell the Portland Press Herald of Maine and its affiliated daily and weekly papers.

Back in April, I wrote about the establishment of a nonprofit organization, the Maine Journalism Foundation, known as MaineJF, which was hoping to purchase the papers from owner Reade Brower. MacQuarrie reports that yet another nonprofit group, the National Trust for Local News, “is believed to be in the running.” I assume that the trust is looking to work with the MaineJF rather than compete, so that is potentially a promising development.

Last August, Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, the CEO and founder of the National Trust, was a guest on our podcast about the future of local news, “What Works.” Ellen Clegg and I spoke with her about her organization’s work in saving legacy newspapers from the depredations of corporate chain ownership.

The trust is perhaps best known for facilitating the sale of Colorado Community Media, a chain of weekly and monthly papers in the Denver suburbs. Hansen Shapiro is also an advisory board member of The Lexington Observer, a hyperlocal nonprofit startup.

Linda Shapley talks about journalism, leadership and the power of diversity

Linda Shapley. Photo (cc) 2021 by Dan Kennedy.

On the new episode of the “What Works” podcast, Ellen Clegg and I speak with Linda Shapley, the publisher of Colorado Community Media, who describes herself as a longtime denizen of the state’s media ecosystem. Indeed, she was at Colorado Politics and worked for 21 years for The Denver Post. “I’ve been a lieutenant for a lot of really great generals,” she once said. “This is my opportunity to be a general.”

CCM is a group of about two dozen weekly and monthly newspapers in the Denver suburbs. They were saved from chain ownership two years ago when they were purchased through a deal led by the National Trust for Local News. Last August we spoke with Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, the co-founder and CEO of the trust.

Shapley has talked about the power of representation as a visible Latina leader in an industry that has traditionally been dominated by white men. She says she hopes to use her position to encourage more diversity in journalism. Her mentor at the Post, Greg Moore, was a previous guest on What Works. You can listen to his episode here.

Shapley grew up in northeastern Colorado, in a rural county. Her father had a dairy farm. When I was in Colorado doing research for our book-in-progress, “What Works in Community News,” she told me that dairy farming is a lot like newspapers, because cows don’t know it’s Christmas.

Also this week, we talk with Madison Xagoraris, a graduate student in the Media Advocacy Program at Northeastern University’s School of Journalism. Xagoraris recently reported on KefiFM, a Boston-based Greek music outlet dedicated to serving the Greek and Greek American communities in the Boston area and throughout New England.

Ellen has a Quick Take about retired journalists who are busy launching startup newsrooms. Nieman Reports has a piece by Jon Marcus that looks at the Asheville Watchdog in North Carolina, and the New Bedford Light in Massachusetts. These journalists say they want to help bolster the profession they gave their lives to by setting up nonprofit community news sites and mentoring younger reporters and editors. They aren’t playing pickleball.

I’m in a Colorado state of mind: My Quick Take is on the fifth anniversary of the Denver Rebellion, when the staff of The Denver Post rose up against further newsroom cuts being imposed by its hedge-fund owner, Alden Global Capital. That rebellion sparked a revolution in Denver journalism.

You can listen to our conversation here and subscribe through your favorite podcast app.

How Anne Galloway built VTDigger into Vermont’s largest news organization

Anne Galloway speaks at VTDigger’s 10th anniversary celebration in 2019. Photo by Glenn Russell, courtesy of VTDigger.

On this week’s “What Works” podcast, Ellen Clegg and I talk with Anne Galloway, the founder and editor-at-large of VTDigger in Vermont. Like many journalists, she was laid off in 2009 from her job as Sunday editor of the Rutland Herald and The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus.

VTDigger, which is a nonprofit, started with a $16,000 budget with no employees. As Galloway put it in a recent letter to readers, it has grown beyond her wildest dreams. It’s the largest newsroom in Vermont, with dozens of employees and more than 550,000 monthly readers. Galloway not only built the organization, she also wrote notable investigative pieces. Among other issues, she broke open a fraudulent scheme that involve developers at Jay Peak. I visited Galloway and wrote about the newsroom in my 2018 book “The Return of the Moguls.”

Earlier this year Galloway stepped aside from her management position in order to concentrate on investigative reporting.

Ellen has a quick take on a study about the state of U.S. democracy from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The study says it’s critical to fight disinformation, and advocates rebuilding trusted local news sources.

I report on a promising merger between public radio station KERA and the Denton Record-Chronicle, a daily newspaper that covers the suburbs north of Dallas. This move was facilitated by the National Trust for Local News, which raises money and connects legacy newspaper owners with possible buyers in order to keep them from either shutting down or falling into the hands of corporate chain owners. Our podcast with Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of the trust, can be found here.

You can listen to our latest podcast here and subscribe through your favorite podcast app.