Episode 90: Scott Brodbeck

Dan and Ellen talk with Scott Brodbeck, founder and CEO of Local News Now.

Many of the news entrepreneurs on this podcast lead nonprofits. Local News Now is a for-profit. Scott owns and operates local news websites in three big Northern Virginia suburbs: Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County.

Dan has a Quick Take about a corporate newspaper owner that is making a big bet on growth at a major metropolitan newspaper. In Georgia, Cox Enterprises is making a $150 million bet that it can transform The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. If Cox is successful, it might serve as a model for other corporate newspaper owners.

Ellen has a Quick Take about a piece in the New Yorker by a writer named Nathan Heller. At first glance, it doesn't seem to relate to local news. In fact, the title is pretty wonky: The Republican Victory and the Ambience of Information. But Heller has some smart observations about how information travels in a viral age.