Journalism is in crisis, suffering from more than 20,000 lay-offs, a dearth of coverage in rural areas, attacks as “fake news” and challenged business models as ad revenues are sucked away by Google and Facebook. More than 1,300 counties in the U.S. no longer have a local paper with swaths of the Midwest and south labeled as news deserts. Although Vermont has dozens of small local papers, many are struggling -- starved for content and on the brink of closing.

"Three students from UVM’s Grossman School of Business have set out to do something about this. Working with marketing expert Wendy Knight, with funding from UVM’s Office of Engagement, the students are building and implementing sustainable business plans."

“A healthy and independent local press is vital to our democracy” said Knight, a communications professional and former Tourism and Marketing Commissioner for Vermont. “It's really imperative that we find ways to create a sustainable local news system. Local news outlets are fundamental to increasing civic engagement, to sustaining our democracy and to holding elected officials accountable.”

In the first phase, Knight and the students are gathering and analyzing data from four community paper partners in Waterbury, Hinesburg, Richmond and Charlotte. Each of these small papers are essential to the fabric to their community yet face funding challenges, Knight said. The students are examining readership, digital media, and related analytics.

“I’ve been tracking all the data this past week and it's so cool to see all the different articles people are looking at and to see what people like,” said senior business major Risa Repetto. “I know that I'm actually going to be really helping them, as we gather this data. I just love that I can be interested in something, help someone and also see the results.”

In the second phase of the project, the students will work with Knight to implement business strategies that take advantage of local revenue generation opportunities from sponsorships and donor contributions to digital advertising that leverages the papers increasing digital content – all new approaches that will fuel the sustainable business plans that the students are writing.

“The media landscape is evolving rapidly,” Knight said. “We are taking advantage of the latest tools to support local news that can survive.”

In the last phase of the project, the students will implement the plans, working closely with the paper partners and other students in the Community News Service to design and solicit ads, sponsorships and donations. The project is also introducing students to possible careers. Junior business major Zoe McDonald joined the team to learn about marketing.

“I feel like I'm starting to narrow down at least what I'm interested in and what sort of direction I want to take in terms of what I study,” McDonald said. “I’ve really enjoyed learning from a professional in marketing, which I aspire to be someday. So this is giving me the grounds to be able to polish those skills.”

And perhaps one of the strongest impacts has been the warm mentoring relationship between Knight and the three female students.

“Wendy is a role model, what we all want to be” Repetto said. “She’s such a leader and she's so powerful when she talks to us. And she really cares how we're doing, not even just this internship, but with school.

She will ask, what are you interested in? Is this working? Is this not working? It's really focused on us and you can really see that. And I think that's like exactly what you need in a mentor because it is a learning experience.”

Good internships help students connect their classes with possible jobs and careers.

“Even when I've been doing my assignments this past week for some of my other business classes,” said senior business major Nieve Morse. “I can hear Wendy’s voice in the back of my head. And she is saying things like, ‘OK, take the next step. What else can you add. What do you mean by that?’ She's just really overall influenced a lot of the ways that I think and go about doing things.”

Repetto agreed. “The business world is so vast and it's really hard to navigate through, especially as a woman in business. It's nice to know that we always have someone that we can go to, whether that's this internship or whatever comes in the future.”

And for Knight, working with the students has also been inspiring.

“It gives me a real sense of satisfaction to be in a position of helping the students,” Knight said. “I think it's really important as a female business leader and former government official to impart my knowledge and my skills and my experience for the next generation of leaders. It's just been enormously rewarding."

The students will often meet as a group and 1:1 with Knight as they dive into the particulars of each their papers.

“I love our weekly calls,” Knight said. “I can just see their smiles and how much they are enjoying and making the most of this opportunity.”

The business plan project is a collaboration with the Community News Service, an initiative of the College of Arts & Sciences to provide content to the state’s community papers. Funding from the Office of Engagement has supported growing the business development side of the CNS.