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Congratulations to our own Scott Klein for being selected for the AI Journalism Lab: Builders cohort at Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. We're excited to apply your takeaways to how we support our publishers.

In Q4, we released product improvements that help publishers: ⭐ Curate their most important work with ease ⭐ Set up smarter checkout for subscription tiers ⭐ Set up a smoother way to drive conversions ⭐ Show real-time fundraising progress ⭐ Let loyal subscribers spread the word Our Head of Product Strategy, Katie Wilkerson Rethman, dives into how to use this functionality in our latest product roundup. 👉https://lnkd.in/grZ5Y8gq

"𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦-𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘦𝘣 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 2013 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴, 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 404 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧. 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦." That's why The Atavist Magazine started a project to breathe new life into those old stories called "Revived." Their goal is to celebrate existing work that's no longer available due to digital decay. By working with the authors, The Atavist can give new life to "𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦." The first Revived story by Alexandra Marvar was originally published by Topic magazine in 2018. It delves into the legacy of Lummie Jenkins, the longtime and controversial sheriff of Wilcox County, Alabama. This story reveals the complexities of a complicated figure who is perceived as either a hero or a monster, depending on whom you ask. Find the link to that story and more details about the project here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gUidFttP

"𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺," said our Head of Engineering, Claudiu Lodromanean in the most recent episode of WP Cloud's Impressive Hosting podcast. We can't predict when a site will see a surge in traffic. There could be a natural disaster or a political event. Right before the US Presidential election in November of 2024, one of the Haitian Times’ editors was doxxed and swatted in retaliation for coverage of the threats and racist attacks made against Haitian Americans. During that time, we stopped dozens of attempted attacks on the Haitian Times’ website, including hacking attempts, denial-of-service attacks, and bot spam. More about that here 👉 https://lnkd.in/ghhH7eUX Our preparation for massive traffic spikes involves analyzing server data, optimizing database queries, and implementing static sitemaps to prevent CPU overload. Learn how we protect publishers with two-factor authentication, monitoring systems, and proactive alerting. Listen to the episode. https://pca.st/gslb2gw6

Happy New Year, and welcome to the publishers who joined us in December! 🎆 ✨ The Catholic Times is the official news outlet of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. https://lnkd.in/g2jrAjgA ✨ The Oklahoma Eagle has been a trusted voice for Tulsa’s Black and underserved communities — reporting truth, championing justice, and standing up for equity for more than a century. https://theokeagle.org/

What are we doing to help our publishers take on a surge in traffic? Our Head of Engineering, Claudiu Lodromanean, chats with WP Cloud's Joshua Goode on this episode of Impressive Hosting about the pre-emptive steps and monitoring that go into managing the site performance of our publishers. We start by "𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦," said Claudiu. And we take a unique approach to caching to ensure publishers can deliver timely information quickly. As Claudiu said during the episode, "𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘈𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦." We take major steps to provide the hosting, security, and support our publishers need to thrive. Listen to the episode to learn more about those steps 👉 https://lnkd.in/gaq6dYEm

👏 Let's give a huge round of applause to our publisher, Retro Report, for winning an award for 🏆 Best Episodic Series from the International Documentary Association (IDA) for its series "Citizen Nation." ... oh... and they also received a shout-out for this award from Katie Couric on Instagram (https://lnkd.in/g5F3BJP3). Retro Report partnered with PBS to follow teenagers from across the U.S. with diverse personal and political backgrounds as they competed in the nation’s premier civics competition, We the People. In a nation that is so divided, this series is a lesson in how to bridge that divide. Watch the trailer and full episodes here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMftB62M

Publishers who participated in the latest Reader Revenue cohort of our Revenue Development Program made intentional tweaks that helped them generate more direct revenue from their readers. These wins are the kind anyone could start working toward right away. RDP Coach, Katie Mercer from our partner Blue Engine Collaborative, highlights several publisher wins in her recent article, including: ⭐ Mirror Indy added a quarterly payment option in addition to monthly after donors asked for less frequent recurring payments. ⭐ Inside Investigator shared one of the most personal (and effective) tactics they used: calling every donor to ask how their coverage was landing and what could be better. ⭐ Washington City Paper sent a donation email to newsletter subscribers who had never given and collected $675 in just a few hours. Read Katie's article to get more insights from publishers like Outlier Media and Cardinal News 👉 https://lnkd.in/gZJFcufP

“𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘴 — 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 — 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.” Our team member, Scott Klein, predicts that 2026 will herald the return of open source culture in newsrooms. "𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘯 2026, 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦-𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘹𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬." Read his Nieman Journalism Lab Predictions for Journalism in 2026 article to learn why the “show your work” ethos will benefit the news ecosystem. 👉 https://lnkd.in/ehz--mnT