Case Study

Newspapers have plenty of upside in live events

June 29, 2026

This article originally appeared on Blue Engine Collaborative’s LinkedIn.

Newspapers have plenty of upside in their event business.

Nearly half of the respondents to the sixth Newspaper Executive Insights Poll generate less than 5% of their total revenue from events.

Those generating no revenue (about one-third) outnumber those generating more than 5% of total revenue (one in five).

Whether the demand for live events is infinite or not – we suspect that it’s close, given how long they’ve been strong performers for publishers! – it’s difficult to tell what other media players are driving in event revenue because it’s often mashed up under an “other” revenue line with things like agency services.

That said, though, we see a few reasons for upside for local news publishers around events:

Live events are growing at a modest annual rate (2%-5%) per year, according to groups like PwC and the trade association for people who put on trade association gatherings.
Events can be very profitable, according to our respondents, especially as an opportunity to build relationships with major contributors beyond corporate sponsors.

This month’s sixth Blue Engine Collaborative and Lenfest Institute for Journalism poll asked three questions: What share of your revenue came from events? Which format generates the most net revenue? And what one tactic has materially improved profitability, attendance, or sponsorship?

(Earlier polls covered top-to-top relationships, the industry’s philanthropic push, biggest regrets, AI wish lists, and marketing channels.)

Here are the major takeaways:

The clearest signal: don’t build your events business alone.

Will Bleakley, CEO of Midcoast Villager, is candid that his Maine group is early in the game and partnerships are vital to growing quickly. “Partnering with organizations that already have a built-in audience,” he said, lets his organization “introduce us to the community, bring in new audiences… and further expand the idea of what a local newspaper can do” — while building the email list at every gathering.

David Dunn-Rankin, president of Florida’s D-R Media, and one of the few publishers reporting events above 10% of revenue, also points to “all the sponsors and vendors co-promote the event using their digital assets” as a key factor for event success and profitability.

The same instinct shows up onstage. Santa Fe New Mexican Publisher Patrick Dorsey credits “bringing in other appropriate and trusted community partners, including community members and former winners” to the actual programming, too.

Where the profits are.

The second pattern is that a little patience goes a long way toward the bottom line.

One southeastern newspaper executive walked us through the multi-year evolution of a “best of” sports awards night: it started as a dinner in a high-cost venue with a high-cost speaker, then moved to a theater with heavy hors d’oeuvres, then to a lower-cost venue with built-in video and a strong-but-affordable speaker.

What happened? Each year, participants still say it’s “better every year” — and the margin climbed to 60%.

While event revenue may be modest, another respondent told us, event profits often are not: “These events can be highly profitable, whereas other media opportunities have smaller margins.”

Advance sales help too, this respondent said: one event they’re familiar with sells half its tickets ten months out, a quiet gift to cash flow.

Events are great ways to cultivate major supporters.

Events are an incredible tool to build relationships with funders or major donors, too.

Lauren Gustus, CEO and executive editor of the nonprofit Salt Lake Tribune, points out that even the act of a special event invitation creates more contact with a potential major supporter. Once potential supporters are in the room, “we thank them before and during our programming, doing everything we can to ensure they know their support makes our public service work possible.”

The bottom line.

Events aren’t a replacement for anything. They do, however, help an organization express its partner, sponsor and marketing strength – and can be absolutely strong profit drivers with the right patience and attention to detail.

The path from under 5% to double digits is well-marked: bring partners who carry their own audiences, treat margin as a multi-year project, and use the room to deepen the relationships — commercial and philanthropic — that fund the work.

We thank our partners at The Lenfest Institute for Journalism for supporting this work. If you’d like to find out where your opportunities are to go Beyond Print, check out the Institute’s self-serve diagnostic here. You can find the overall Beyond Print toolkit here.