Helping news entrepreneurs and their communities flourish everywhere

Why we believe small is beautiful

By Amy L. Kovac-Ashley

Many people in news — and in lots of other industries — have a “go big or go home” attitude about how to approach and solve problems. It’s understandable because the challenges of local news in the United States and across the world are so big. So why wouldn’t the solutions be big as well? We at the Tiny News Collective submit that big problems can be — must be — solved by many smaller, diverse approaches. Large systems depend on smaller, interconnected networks, and the so-called public square is actually made up of countless kitchen tables.

We see beauty and innovation in small. Why? The challenge in local news is that we are experiencing the breakdown of the previous, consolidated system, and the old plays for scale and “bigger is better” don’t take into account unique smaller communities and their needs — some that are now losing their news and some that were never served well by the old system. As new strategies emerge to fill local information gaps, we're focusing on the possibilities that blossom from starting small. The result is a mighty network of many experiments, not just one big bet.

Here are three reasons we think small is mighty:

1. Starting small allows for smart growth. The idea isn’t just to scale for the sake of scaling but to grow with your audiences. Our members are hyper-focused on serving their communities and building their audiences. If you are in a small, rural community, your organization might always be small — and that’s wonderful if that’s what’s needed in your community. If you’re in a bigger place like TNC member The 51st in Washington, D.C., you can also start small and grow in a smart way based on the capacity of the audience you’re serving. That way, you build things that are needed, and keep your focus on your mission. And most importantly, you center your audiences.
2. Starting small allows for quick iteration. When you’re small, you can move more quickly when things don’t go as planned. You can respond to audience needs in a more nimble way, using the principles of design thinking and iterative product development. For example, TNC member The SHOUT in Wichita realized that their community calendar, which was requested by their audience, wasn’t getting the expected traction. Instead of blaming their audience or just deciding to abandon the produce altogether, they quickly iterated to find a solution. They launched the new calendar in August (four months after the initial launch) and started to receive the engagement they expected. A larger newsroom would not have been able to turn that around as quickly.
3. Aspens vs. oaks. This analogy is one I think about a lot. At TNC, we want to nurture groups of aspen trees that share root systems vs. putting all our support into one big oak tree. If a disaster like a hurricane hits, the oak will be ripped out — including its roots — while aspens have a higher chance for success because they won’t all go down at once. Communities often need many sources of news and information, and those providers can find power in collaborating together and even going so far as sharing back-office support. Not every small outlet needs a full-time bookkeeper, grant writer, HR professional, etc. Instead, what if a group of outlets could share these operations — these roots — and keep those jobs and money in the local community? We are under no illusions that every startup will last forever, but our role is to help people work collaboratively so that even if one fails, another can take its place because the underlying network remains strong.

Even the large funder coalition Press Forward thought small with its first open call for grants, only accepting applications from newsrooms with fewer than $1 million in annual revenue. And we were excited to see six TNC newsrooms receive Press Forward funding (more on that below). 

We know that the challenges for local news are big, but we posit that taking one small step at a time might get us closer to solutions faster. Small might not be the only way, but it is one way that should garner more attention in the industry. Smaller communities, rural communities and communities of color are at great risk of not having trusted news sources. They can’t be left behind.

If you believe that small can be mighty, Tiny News would like to collaborate with you. Get in touch at amy@tinynews.co if you want to join our movement.

TNC News

Six TNC members receive funding from Press Forward

We’re thrilled to announce that six Tiny News Collective members received funding from the Press Forward coalition of funders from around the country: 

• Atlantic City Focus
• Austin Vida
• Black Belt News Network
• Ethiopique
• Future Tides
• Project Optimist

They were part of an open call for local news providers to close gaps in coverage, which resulted in more than 900 applications. In the end, Press Forward chose to give $20 million in general operating support grants to 205 newsrooms, including one in every state. “Selected newsrooms are a bright mosaic of independent, non-partisan sources that are reimagining what local news looks like across America,” Press Forward noted. The funding for TNC members is confirmation that the work of diverse startup newsrooms is vital to fertilizing news deserts.

Learn more about the newsrooms that received Press Forward funding here.

5 Questions with Rascal

For our latest “5 Questions with…” feature, we talked with Rowan Zeoli and Chase Carter of Rascal, launched in February 2024 as an independent, reader-supported, worker-owned outlet for journalism about tabletop roleplaying games and the people who make them. Their goal is to continue the vital work of investigating the tabletop game industry while also building space for criticism, culture reporting and lighthearted blogs that wouldn't survive anywhere else. They also recently ran a radically transparent fundraising campaign.

Rowan and Chase talked about the origins of Rascal, the stories that have had an impact, and how much their audience cares about the Rascals’ mental health. “One of the biggest elements of this has been realizing how supportive our audience is of us taking care of ourselves,” Rowan said. “As a small team, we can only keep up with so much before we burn out, and we’ve had multiple people explicitly tell us that they want us to take time off or reduce our output of articles explicitly, so we can sustainably continue covering the industry. It’s been really difficult to unlearn that capitalistic ‘go-go-go’ mindset, but telling our audience when we’re not doing well (mentally and physically) they’re incredibly supportive.”

Read the entire feature about their personal stories and the impact that Rascal is already having eight months in.

Founder Shoutouts

🎙️Founder Crystal Good of Black by God | The West Virginian was the featured guest on a recent “Local News Matters” podcast, discussing how she serves Black West Virginians. “Those stories [of prominent Black West Virginians] need to be amplified because it really changes the conversation of who and what people think Appalachia is,” she said. “And it's important that people see Appalachia as a region, full of opportunity and prosperity, not these forgotten people or not these stupid hillbilly toothless people.”

🗣️They say all PR is good PR, but it’s especially good when you have Tiny News founders in the house. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) held an event in Wichita that featured The SHOUT founders Emily Christensen and Teri Mott discussing ethics and transparency, and TMBP Media founder Dr. Latasha Eley Kelly moderated a panel on reframing your narrative and personal brand.

🎊 Huzzah! The Estes Valley Voice recently celebrated its first 100 days with the announcement of a grant from the Rose Community Foundation for its civility initiative, Civility in the Estes Valley Begins with Me. The outlet is bringing filmmaker Don Colacino to Estes Park, Colo., on Oct. 28 for a screening of his film “Trusted Sources” followed by a panel discussion about civility, political discourse and the role of the media. Read more about it!

📈 TNC member Intersection Magazine was recently chosen as one of the 45 LION Publishers members to get a Sustainability Audit. The publication will receive financial guidance and a $20,000 grant, and it plans to hire local reporters to improve its product as it increases coverage of communities of color in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

🥳 The co-founders of The 51st in Washington, D.C., celebrated the launch of their weekly newsletter earlier this month at an event that sold out 11 minutes after the event invitation went live. This event is one of many in-person events they plan to host. In a note to attendees, the co-founders wrote, "Thank you to everyone who came out, donated, invited their friends, helped spread the word, and shared story ideas with us – we’re so grateful to be building The 51st with you."

Resources

#ElectSafely from the Coalition Against Online Violence 
This campaign includes resources and training about how journalists can stay safe when covering elections.

Leadership Academy for Women in Media from the Poynter Institute
More than 650 women have been part of this leadership academy, and the March 2025 cohort is open for applications. Thirty participants will be accepted, and the deadline is December 6.

Pilot Accelerator Program from Report for America
Offering coaching and training to help 25 newsrooms diversify their revenue streams by tapping into local philanthropic support. Apply by November 17.

Coffee shop collaboration from NowKalamazoo
Wherein the café printed a QR code and link to the news site on coffee cup sleeves so people could get election news and register to vote

Thanks for reading the latest edition of the Big Blast from Tiny News. Be sure to follow us on social media to keep up with the latest from TNC and our amazing group of founders!

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The Big Blast Credits

Written by Amy L. Kovac-Ashley, with Mark Glaser
Edited by Amy L. Kovac-Ashley and Andrea Faye Hart