Innovations in Media: 'The Elysian'

You’ll want to hang on as I dig into this post because there’s a lot to unpack as it relates to The Elysian, whose varied tentacles include a Substack channel, an email newsletter, periodic digital and print pamphlets, a crowd-funded book, live and recorded video interviews, live events around the world, chats with subscribers, IRL meetings with subscribers, a member Slack channel, and probably a few other things I’ve yet to discover. 

All are powered or inspired by Elle Griffin, a dreamer inspired to uncover a better civilization. 

Am I hearing utopia? 

Yep. Perhaps it’s too far off, but the fun for Griffin is working toward utopia(s), and showing her homework along the way. 

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Innovations in Media: 'Newsberg'

While visiting family in Oregon a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon an interesting print-digital hybrid that leverages old and new media to broaden its audience. 

Newsberg serves Newberg, Oregon, a charming city of about 25,000 people that sits in the Willamette Valley wine country. The city's primary local media is The Newberg Graphic, a 138-year-old weekly newspaper and digital operation owned by Carpenter Media Group. 

But wedging its way into local eyeballs is Newsberg.org, an enterprising 3-year-old hyper-local non-profit news venture that combines a weekly 2-page print product with a weekly email newsletter, active website and larger special print editions. All are free. 

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Innovations in Media: ‘Make us your preferred Google source’

Updated on Thursday, August 13, 2026 at 9:02 AM by Logan Molen

Search-engine optimization has been a challenge for news websites for several decades, ever since Google Page Rank brought the opportunity for more eyeballs to the forefront of web strategy.

In the age of artificial intelligence and Google’s focus on “AI Mode” when prioritizing results, even the smallest of tweaks can pay dividends. 

Several days ago, while visiting Monocle.com, I was presented with this page, encouraging me to add the site to my list of “Preferred Sources” on my Google Pixel 9 phone. I frequently use the Pixel’s “swipe right” feature to pull up a feed of top news and topics of interest based on trends in my search history. 

What’s smart about the strategy

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