Statewide News Collective to partner with Subtext for SMS engagement pilot

A six-month experiment to test audience engagement and revenue opportunities

December 16, 2025

Amid growing challenges with third-party platforms, newsrooms are prioritizing direct, reliable connections with their audiences. To explore new ways to engage readers, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and SMS platform Subtext are partnering to conduct a pilot program at six Statewide News Collective newsrooms. The project will test whether SMS can provide a stable channel for building stronger audience relationships and supporting long-term sustainability for local journalism.

The Statewide News Collective is a Lenfest Community of Practice made up of nearly 40 news organizations serving statewide audiences. 

This work is part of a broader effort to understand how SMS can support low-lift, high-impact engagement campaigns. The pilot is guided by the hypothesis that SMS’s immediacy and conversational tone can foster stronger connections, encouraging readers to take actions such as clicking, responding, attending events, subscribing, or donating.

“We believe this pilot will help us reach the next level of relationship-based journalism,” said Wisconsin Watch, a member of the Statewide News Collective participating in the pilot. 

Over six months — including one month for setup and five months of text campaigns — participating organizations will test defined campaign approaches and share progress and insights with a cohort of peer newsrooms.

The pilot focuses on two key approaches aimed at strengthening audience relationships and generating revenue opportunities:

Text with the Editor approach: A newsroom leader sends a few texts each week to share insights into their reporting process, preview upcoming coverage, and gather audience feedback. Newsrooms choosing this campaign will test how this approach encourages conversion, retention, and donations. 

Set it and forget it approach: A more hands-off option for capacity-limited newsrooms. Participants opting into this campaign will create a short, five-day automated text course focused on a local topic (such as local elections, education, or small businesses) with opportunities to incorporate sponsor branding. By testing repeatable, low-lift formats, newsrooms can explore scalable engagement strategies without adding operational strain. 

The six-month project will conclude with a public report summarizing key takeaways and lessons from participating organizations, offering insights for peers and other newsrooms looking to explore similar approaches. 

“Local news organizations are doing essential work for their communities, but too often they’re forced to rely on platforms they don’t control to reach their audiences,” said Mike Donoghue, CEO and co-founder of Subtext. “This pilot is about helping newsrooms build direct, trusted relationships with readers through simple, conversational tools. SMS gives publishers a reliable way to engage people where they already are — strengthening loyalty, deepening trust, and opening up new paths to long-term sustainability.”

Learn more about the participating newsrooms:

• New Mexico In Depth: Known for deep political reporting, New Mexico In Depth will use SMS to provide legislative context and insights, engage readers during key legislative sessions, and explore whether text messaging can drive newsletter sign-ups and sustained audience engagement.

• Deep South Today: Building on previous SMS experience, Deep South Today will ramp up strategies to reach underrepresented and rural audiences, cultivate a superfollower community, and explore ways to support revenue growth.

• VTDigger: Focused on membership integration, VTDigger will test a weekly “Feel Good Fridays” SMS campaign, featuring uplifting stories, statewide events, and monthly polls. This approach will allow them to explore which types of positive, community-centered content resonate most, how SMS compares to email in interaction and engagement, the feasibility of a sustainable weekly text, and audience interest in a potential statewide events product.

• Wisconsin Watch: A leader in statewide service journalism, Wisconsin Watch will use SMS to deepen community connections, refine engagement strategies, strengthen trust and accessibility, and support donor and member relationships across Wisconsin.

• The Assembly: With a subscriber-focused approach, The Assembly will experiment with direct conversations and text-based content to guide returning readers to relevant newsletters, deepen engagement, and grow their audience.

• Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service: Centered on community engagement and equity, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service will explore SMS to expand two-way communication, increase transparency in coverage, and generate insights to inform both reporting and best practices for peer organizations.