The New York Times, no stranger to focused newsletters, is turning its attention to California.
With California Today, the new morning newsletter it is testing this week, the Times is taking a focused look at news close to California residents. Its first edition includes coverage of the wildfires raging through California, the ongoing drought, and violence at a neo-Nazi protest over the weekend. It’s not all bad news, though: The newsletter also features coverage of upcoming summer festivals and sporting events, as well as some softer news about the world’s ugliest dog. The newsletter is led by Los Angeles-based staffer Ian Lovett, who covers the news with a loose, conversational tone.
If it moves forward, California Today would be an interesting sibling to the Times’ stated interest in international expansion, where it’s investing $50 million in initiatives like NYT en Español. The Times’ “Our Path Forward” memo from last fall listed email newsletters as one area where the paper planned more focus; its Morning and Evening Briefings, originally built for its NYT Now app, have been notable successes on mobile.We’re trying out a California morning newsletter this week. Check out the first one here: https://t.co/EqXu6GFQPP
— Ian Lovett (@iglovett) June 27, 2016
The Times has worked on creating California-specific content before, most notably through its partnership with the San Francisco-based Bay Citizen, which teamed up with the Times in 2010 to produce special California-focused articles that appeared online and in Bay Area print editions of The Times. The relationship ended in 2012 when The Bay Citizen merged with the Center for Investigative Reporting.
And, while life isn’t rosy for any part of the American newspaper world, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Times saw a market opportunity in California, which has seen more than its share of print chaos lately: the bankruptcy sale of the Orange County Register, the consolidation of the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times, and whatever Tronc ends up doing to the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune. As of last spring, the Times sold 67,000 daily print copies in California, the most of any state outside New York. (We asked the Times for comment this morning and will update if we hear back.)Early reception to the newsletter on Twitter has generally been positive, with several hoping that the Times makes the project a permanent one:
#CAToday NY Times had an excellent overview of CA news for CA subscribers. Hope they adopt this feature permanently!
— Susan DeSanti (@SusanDeSanti) June 27, 2016
The NYT has a new morning newsletter for California readers. Because California is the center of the world. https://t.co/s2YayyvF1o
— Farhad Manjoo (@fmanjoo) June 27, 2016
@MikeIsaac Lol, any good news? California is on fire and has nazis. Oh and by the way there’s some quaint Summer festivals happening.
— Andrew Sinclair (@TheAJSinclair) June 27, 2016
One comment:
Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?
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