Who doesn’t love a good end-of-year countdown, right? This is our first of several — a look at the most popular stories on the Local Media Association website for 2025 in terms of page views.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was by far the most popular topic of the year, and there are three AI-related stories in the first part of our countdown.

No. 10 — How 7 local newsrooms used newsletters to drive big growth, revenue and reader loyalty

Seven Digital Innovation Award winners show how newsletters function as full-fledged products, not side channels. The story details strategies including topic-focused newsletters, personality-driven formats, preference centers and consistent cadences that translated engagement into real revenue — from subscriptions and donations to sponsorships. Across newsrooms, newsletters emerged as a primary engine for loyalty and sustainability.
https://localmedia.org/2025/05/how-7-local-newsrooms-used-newsletters-to-drive-big-growth-revenue-and-reader-loyalty/

No. 9 — How The Nevada Independent turned events into a revenue and community engine

The Nevada Independent outlines how a mission-driven events strategy became a durable revenue stream while strengthening community trust. By tying events directly to editorial beats and civic issues, the newsroom avoided transactional programming and instead created experiences that delivered value for audiences, sponsors, and journalism alike. Events worked because they extended reporting, rather than competing with it.
https://localmedia.org/2025/04/how-the-nevada-independent-turned-events-into-a-revenue-and-community-engine/

No. 8 — Rust Communications and PubGen.ai win Innovator of the Year for groundbreaking AI-powered CMS for local newsrooms

This story explains why Rust Communications and PubGen.ai earned Innovator of the Year: their AI-powered CMS focuses on workflow efficiency rather than content novelty. The platform centralizes writing, design, image creation, production, subscriptions, and monetization tools for multi-outlet operations, demonstrating how AI can quietly strengthen newsroom infrastructure and sustainability.
https://localmedia.org/2025/05/rust-communications-and-pubgen-ai-win-innovator-of-the-year-for-groundbreaking-ai-powered-cms-for-local-newsrooms/

No. 7 — 4 real-world newsroom AI experiments: what they learned

Reporting from the AI Community Journalism Lab, this article examines four structured newsroom experiments, including reader-facing chatbots and internal workflow tools. The lessons were practical: narrow use cases worked best, editorial oversight was essential, and learning mattered more than scaling. The experiments emphasized AI as a tool for support, not replacement.
https://localmedia.org/2025/10/4-real-world-newsroom-ai-experiments-what-they-learned/

No. 6 — News consumers cautiously optimistic about AI use in news

Based on audience research from the AI Community Journalism Lab and Trusting News, this piece shows that most consumers are wary but not hostile toward AI in journalism. The majority want humans involved before publication and express discomfort with AI-written content. Transparency and education emerged as key factors in maintaining trust — especially as AI use expands.
https://localmedia.org/2025/11/news-consumers-cautiously-optimistic-about-ai-use-in-news/

Editor’s note: Artificial Intelligence was used to create a draft of this article, which was then edited by LMA staff.