The Baltimore Beat experiments with pay-what-you-can ads

"We hope this is a way that small businesses can feature themselves in the paper, keeping their services at the front of readers' minds. The nonprofit distributes 20,000 free print copies twice a month and relies on donations large and small, as well as advertising and other revenue."

"In the past, news outlets earned money through classified ads and other ads. The internet and social media made that irrelevant. Many business owners decided that they could use Facebook or Twitter or Instagram to do their own advertising. I think now is the time to revisit classified ads, especially when it comes to hyper local journalism."

"It's much harder these days to use Google to find reliable information and algorithms beyond their control mean many might not even see the content being offered by small businesses. Moreover, more people want to shop locally and put their hard-earned money into businesses they can trust."

Baltimore Beat, a Black-led nonprofit news outlet distributing 20,000 free print copies twice monthly, introduced pay-what-you-can advertising to support local small businesses. The tiered pricing structure suggests $50 for mom-and-pop shops, $150 for brick-and-mortar stores, and $300 for larger investors. The initiative responds to growing dissatisfaction with Google Search quality and social media algorithms, positioning local print advertising as a viable alternative. Editor-in-Chief Lisa Snowden argues that declining Google reliability and algorithm limitations make hyper-local journalism advertising increasingly valuable, especially as consumers seek trustworthy local businesses to support.

Read at Nieman Lab