dispatches
How Local News Got the Attention Business Wrong
The local news industry got both halves of the attention equation wrong. Mercury Local is built to get them right.
Peter Cellino·Mar 30, 2026
Topic
Industry Analysis
dispatches
Publishers Losing Facebook and Google Traffic
Facebook traffic went to zero. Google is next. AI doesn't even click through. The entire model of "we publish, someone else sends us readers" is ending as a category — and the publishers who built…
Peter Cellino·Mar 27, 2026
dispatches
Mercury Local and WordPress VIP Face the Same Problems
WordPress VIP's CTO runs a 200-person enterprise division serving News Corp, NASA, and the White House. Mercury Local runs three publications with one publisher.
Peter Cellino·Mar 26, 2026
dispatches
Charlotte Early Voting Turnout: Less Than 2 Percent
Nearly three-quarters of the ballots came in the last five days, led by University City Library with 2,965.
Peter Cellino·Sep 7, 2025
dispatches
The Attention Economy Is Collapsing. Good.
Why click-driven media failed—and what we're building instead.
Peter Cellino·Aug 6, 2025
dispatches
What Happens When Digital Advertising Collapses?
Note from the Publisher — The Attention Economy Is a Lemon. Here's Why We're Not Selling It.
Peter Cellino·Jul 27, 2025
dispatches
Local News Revenue Fix: AEO, SEO & LEO
The Money Hole — Google and Facebook now take 63 percent of U.S. digital ad spend.
Peter Cellino·Jul 7, 2025
dispatches
Ghost Papers: How Hedge Funds Hollowed Out Local Newsrooms
The Lights Are On, but Nobody's Home. Walk into the Hartford Courant newsroom and you'll hear more echoes than phone rings.
Peter Cellino·Jun 13, 2025
dispatches
How the Attention-Merchant Ad Model Bankrupted Local Papers
A Penny Bought Attention, Not News. Benjamin Day launched the New York Sun in 1833 at one cent.
Peter Cellino·Jun 13, 2025
dispatches
How Private Equity Gutted Local Newspapers: A Data Autopsy
The Deal Playbook — Private-equity firms do not buy newspapers for journalism. They buy distressed cash flow.
Peter Cellino·Jun 13, 2025