Regional media outlets lack news: there is no service for automatically finding local events and topics not yet covered by competitors
2026-01-03 02:56
1. Describe the problem:
I am a journalist by profession and worked for a regional media outlet where my colleagues and I wrote news for a small city in Russia – Tambov (city population ~300k, region ~700k). The main problem is that periodically there is nothing to write about. Events are scarce, and writing the same thing as competitors (rephrasing) is uninteresting and doesn't attract an audience. My colleagues and I need a service that would automatically find local news and events potentially interesting to city and region residents, which haven't yet been covered by other media.
2. How often does the problem occur?
The "nothing to write about" state occurs on average once a week, sometimes more often. This is a systemic problem for small regional editorial offices. I've spoken with many journalists, and they also confirm this issue.
3. What attempts have you made to solve the problem?
Everything is done manually: monitoring social media, local groups, calling administrative offices. Often, we have to simply rewrite competitors' news, which reduces the publication's uniqueness and value.
4. How much are you willing to pay for the solution?
As an employee, I don't make financial decisions, but I'm confident the media outlet's management would be willing to pay for such a service that solves the problem of news content shortage. The payment issue needs to be discussed directly with them. But it would definitely be a direct investment in content strategy and publication uniqueness.
I also have contacts of current journalists at various regional media outlets in Russia and can connect you with some of them for feedback.
The author of this problem has indicated that they are ready to provide feedback to the developers and want to receive 1% equity in the startup that will build a ready-made solution. You can contact the author directly via the contacts above.