Episode 90: Scott Brodbeck
Episode description
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.