Expanding nationally by staying local, how one newspaper group has pivoted into the future of digital weather communications

As digital communications expand, the demand for timely weather information remains strong, especially in times of rapidly changing or unusual weather conditions.

Video continues to be a main driver for content. YouTube is the second most used website in the world, according to SimilarWeb. At the same time, 68% of people use newspapers and their websites for local news, according to Pew Research. Pew also shows that weather is by far the most important reason why people consume local news content, at 70%.

This gives newspapers a large opportunity to provide people with weather content, especially in the video space that's infrequently been tapped into.

Lee Enterprises is a national operation of more than 70 newsrooms, mainly located in small to mid-markets. The Lee Weather Team, which consists of four meteorologists strategically located across the country, was developed in the winter of 2021-2022, and was the first chain of newspapers to have their own collaborative weather team covering select local markets. However, using The Weather Company's MAX Cloud system, the team has expanded its content, and now produces multiple daily videos for high impact weather for all of the company's newsrooms. For Lee, this is a new way of presenting news, driving digital subscribers, and offering advertisers new ways to promote their content, all of which meet Lee’s three pillar growth strategy.

Using a combination of home offices and on-site studios, the team produces video and text utilizing the company's content management system to push videos to selected individual markets. Each of the four meteorologists are responsible for five separate regions, coordinating to fill in when members of the team are away.

Additional videos are also produced seasonally, focusing on mid-range winter weather forecasting and upcoming tropical weather threats, which have been watched by thousands on a weekly basis.

The team also produces a weekly podcast, Across the Sky. In less than 18 months, it has become the third largest weather show in the country according to Podchaser. It’s a fast-moving show focusing on seasonable weather topics that is distributed through the power of Lee’s nationwide network of newsrooms.

This presentation will focus on how Lee Enterprises newsrooms are leading the way in local weather coverage, the wide variety of content consumers see on a regular basis, how to collaborate for over 70 newsrooms with a small team, and what future ideas are in store.