Appendix II Interview Protocol

Preliminary Questions

For industry:

1. Tell us a little bit about the current status of your publication/group.

For experts:

1. Tell us a little bit about your involvement in local media, where your focus is, and why.

For all:

2. In your expert opinion, what is the state of the local newspaper industry in the United States?

3. What are the key challenges specifically facing rural, small, and medium-sized newspapers in the United States?

4. What are the key opportunities for rural, small, and medium-sized newspapers in the United States?

Best practice questions (Order can be flipped. Prompt for examples/specifics)

5. Do you know of any “success stories” involving small-market newspapers? We are interested in both business models and great journalism.

6. What “best practices” would you recommend for small-market newspapers seeking to better manage their digital and non-digital experiences?

Engagement

7. We hear a lot about the importance of engagement by both national and local media at present. What does engagement mean to you?

8. How can local media do this well? Do you have particular examples that you would like to share with us?

Policy/Intervention/Support

9. Assuming that local news is something we deem as necessary to survive, what interventions (policy, industry, civil society, etc.) what would you like to see done to strengthen local newspapers in the United States?

If required, use this space to also recap on strengths/weaknesses of industry.