A noble idea, sure. But the Times is a publicly traded company, not a nonprofit, and already dominates many local markets, outpacing the entrenched legacy papers. “The Times is already the undisputed leader in national news, with millions of subscribers spread across the U.S.,” media analyst Simon Owens wrote in his own newsletter. “Adding local coverage to its bundle would only make that subscription more valuable, giving readers yet another reason not to cancel.” Though there may be an appetite for more local news among some readers in these markets, this strategy could become as much a retention play as a way to further widen the subscriber funnel.

Cynically, this partnership might also suggest that the Times’s traditional growth levers are declining in a post-social ecosystem. Or, perhaps, this Twin Cities play is some sort of genuflecting press release–style tactic—a nice success story if it works, but an easy mulligan to sweep under the rug if it doesn’t. Yet beneath it all lies a far greater possibility: As the Times Company continues to grow, it must continue to outgrow the Times itself. What if the company can roll up local news, just as The Athletic—which it famously paid a handsome $550 million to acquire a few years back—helped it aggregate local sports?

Despite the harsh realities facing those legacy local outlets, there are signs of economic opportunity. The Institute for Nonprofit News reported that its network of local partners generated more than $750 million in revenue in 2025, up about 14 percent year over year—the highest total on record. Similarly, Medill found that more than 300 local news startups launched between 2020 and 2025, with 90 percent focused on metro areas. The Baltimore Banner, a particularly well-funded outlet that launched in 2022, has more than 82,000 paid subscribers. And in a recent piece for The New Yorker, internet culture chronicler Kyle Chayka noted the rise in hyper-niche local newsletters across almost every major city, focused on small neighborhoods—such as the Boerum Bulletin, which covers an area of roughly 90 square blocks in Brooklyn. These publications may only matter to 1,000 or so people, but Chayka’s reporting found that those neighborhood readers were more inclined to engage with the newsletter precisely because of how directly it addressed their specific needs.

These subscale local plays will likely never attract meaningful advertising dollars. In reality, while local ad spend is set to increase over the next few years, the main beneficiaries will be shortform video and streaming as we continue migrating to a post-text, video-first media environment. Per BIA Advisory Services, some $184.5 billion in local ad spend for 2026 is a reflection of “stronger-than-expected performance in mobile (particularly social), video, and streaming.” BIA V.P. Senan Mele called out “continued momentum in social and connected TV”—not exactly a great line for any pitch deck about expanding print news into the local space. Remember, what’s working for niche content in the digital text space is also working tenfold in the influencer space. Consider that nano- and micro-influencers—creators who can cover every interest, including city- or region-focused content—now account for nearly half of all U.S. creator spend, up from less than a fifth a few years ago, per eMarketer. Naturally, today’s newsrooms see this as a viable strategy for their own YouTube presence: partner with smaller creators and find a way into those markets through them. But the problem with this strategy is that it trains audiences to spend more time with those creators on separate platforms. It’s not necessarily that trying to find a foothold in a local market is a bad idea—fragmentation and information overload have led audiences to seek out hyper-specific content catering to intrinsic parts of their lives. That’s obvious in the readership numbers. But those readers don’t necessarily make for a great business plan, especially for companies looking to drive significant revenue. Could that be different for the Times Company, whose path to 15 million paid subs by the end of 2027 may require a detour through local? The experiment in the Twin Cities will bear that out. Of course, not everyone is the Times, so it’s worth remembering: What works for one of the biggest news companies in the world—with the runway to invest in markets it sees as ripe for dominating—isn’t an industry trend everyone should follow. That, in the end, may even be its very own moat.

Thanks, Julia. Have a great weekend. I’ll be back on Monday.

Dylan