The last few weeks of Q3 were a whirlwind, but here we go with another Publisher’s Note giving a behind-the-scenes look at the local media business and the people who make it happen.
This note is part reflection, part field report, a dispatch from the trenches of trying to help local journalism thrive in Atlanta.
Read this post on Substack.
The seeds we’ve been planting over the past four and a half years are bearing fruit. We just closed our biggest print quarter ever: 332 printed pages, a 31% increase over average, with a 58% ad-to-editorial ratio. This number, while very inside baseball, is important because it fuels our ability to continue investing in quality local journalism.
Even though Georgia Voice, and the LGBTQ+ media sector as a whole, has faced a steep decline in ad dollars (our national rep firm said this is their worst year in 37 years), we just published our biggest issue of 2025, released an annual travel guide with the ACVB, and our newsletter continues to grow as an engaging, independent voice, which is more important than ever for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.
Our revenue mix remains steady, with 72% from print, 27% from digital, and 1% from reader revenue. I’m optimistic we’ll finish the year more than 15 percent higher than last year.
A note on reader revenue: support from readers — whether through subscriptions or voluntary contributions — is one of the most important ways local media stays alive today. The future of local journalism won’t be one-size-fits-all, but every experiment adds to the playbook.
I received a lot of thoughtful feedback from my previous newsletter, including the particularly passionate text message above. While my thoughts on print and the AJC’s decision to stop printing haven’t changed, they deserve a bit of clarification.
Atlanta is about to become the largest U.S. city without a daily print newspaper. It’s because daily print doesn’t work anymore. The audience isn’t large enough, and the logistics are increasingly difficult. Designing, printing, and delivering papers to a shrinking number of driveways is a losing proposition.
There is a lot of buzz about the print revival because of publications like The Onion, Racquet Magazine, and my friends at The Bitter Southerner. But these are all relatively niche, and none of them print daily papers.
Yes, the AJC print edition may have been profitable, but a small and shrinking profit and long-term sustainability are two very different things. The AJC’s resources are better spent on products that have actual growth potential, like audio, video, and events.
My friend Patricia Murphy is a true journalistic treasure in Atlanta, but as I told her when I saw her at a recent Atlanta History Center event, I’m confident her mom can print out her AJC column and put it in a scrapbook with much less impact on the environment.
Ending daily print, while painful to some of our parents, is the right move for the AJC. That said, don’t be surprised if they eventually launch a weekly or fortnightly print edition, delivered through the mail, that provides value for advertisers and the lean-back reader experience we know works through Rough Draft’s print products.
I want Rough Draft to reflect the cultural heartbeat of our region. That includes covering film, arts, and entertainment, which aren’t just nice to have coverage; they are economic engines and community shapers.
Sammie Purcell joined Rough Draft in early 2021 as our Brookhaven and Dunwoody beat writer. She was always clear that she wanted to pursue entertainment writing, specifically film criticism, something she’s done for us since late 2022. In fact, I’m pretty sure she’s the only full-time film critic at an Atlanta publication.
In our first behind-the-scenes look at our staff, I asked Sammie a few questions, including why she wanted a career in journalism.
I knew I wanted to write and tell stories through that writing. When I took an arts criticism class in grad school, it really solidified to me that criticism and arts journalism would be the best spot for my talents.
What was the first movie you ever reviewed for Rough Draft, and how do you feel about that review looking back now?
As far as I can tell, the first movie I reviewed was Sean Baker’s “Red Rocket.” It’s not my favorite Baker (a filmmaker I generally like), and I still stand by my thoughts, although I’d like to give it another watch. I actually don’t think the review is half bad – and I was ready to hate it – but I think I have come a really long way in terms of developing my voice as a critic. I think I’m far more voice-y now than that review would lead one to believe.
What does your writing process actually look like?
I love a good coffee shop – Rev and Bellwood are my preferred faves – and that’s definitely where I am my most productive. If I’m at home, I tend to go back and forth between a desk and the couch. A desk is preferred for interviews, the couch is preferred for writing (and there’s usually a dog snuggled up there, so that’s nice).
Do you ever get nervous publishing a strong take, knowing that someone out there will absolutely disagree with you?
Not really. The thing that I get the most nervous about is when I feel like my own take isn’t quite settled yet. Which, unfortunately, usually happens when the movie is really interesting. I often only get to watch movies once before I review them, and there have been more than a few instances where I’ve gone back to a movie after a review has been published and realized I missed something, or had a new thought that I wish I could have included.
What’s an upcoming film that you’re excited about?
I’m unreasonably excited to see the new Richard Linklater film “Blue Moon,” which follows songwriter Lorenz Hart on the opening night of his former musical partner Richard Rodgers’ new musical, “Oklahoma!” I love, love, love musicals, and with this story in particular, it feels like Linklater took a peek inside my brain and decided to make a movie just for me!
The above interview was lightly edited for space and clarity.
I’ve been pretty active on the speaking and podcast front lately.
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