Many regional newsrooms face versions of the same reality: constrained resources and a content cycle that is moving faster and faster, as readers continue to look for updates outside of working hours: evenings, weekends, and holidays. And when it comes to local and regional journalism, the stories from the heart of the community are what matter most. Though, those also tend to be some of the most time consuming.
So— what's a newsroom left to do?
They certainly shouldn't take reporters off of the journalism that matters most to their readers in favor of evergreen content.
The question becomes, what do you publish in those windows without compromising the journalism that makes your publication worth reading in the first place?
For Lodestar Media — a network of community news publications across British Columbia, including Vancouver Is Awesome, Business in Vancouver, and local titles serving Richmond, Squamish, and beyond — the answer has been Stacker content.
Over four-plus years, that partnership has produced more than 1.7 million estimated views across the network. And best of all, the reporters were never pulled from a single local story to make it happen.
Tereza Verenca, Lodestar's Director of Digital Content, inherited the Stacker partnership from a former colleague who had established it as a reliable source of evergreen content for coverage gaps. When she took ownership of it, she made it structural.
"I made it my mission that every day — at least 5 days a week — we would have one Stacker item, around 7 or 8 p.m."
In practice, that means a few clicks in Story Hub to package a story in the CMS. Seven minutes, start to finish, and a market that might otherwise have nothing new for readers that evening has something worth reading. The content is sourced, reviewed, and non-opinionated — and in four-plus years of daily use, Tereza has never found a reason to pull a story.
The categories she leans on are deliberate: pets, personal finance, seasonal wellness, at-home explainers — stories that travel broadly across Canadian audiences without relying on U.S.-specific data. "How to alleviate your dry skin in the winter — that can apply to everyone," she said. That selection instinct is part of what makes the habit sustainable. Every story she publishes fits her readers without requiring heavy editorial intervention.
Holiday periods are where that reliability becomes especially valuable. When offices close and local reporters are off, Stacker content keeps sites feeling fresh and updated. "If it's a Monday that everyone gets off, you'll see that I have the whole day scheduled, and Stacker is usually a couple items in that list."
The results have compounded in a meaningful way. From January through May 2026, Lodestar's pageviews from Stacker content more than doubled year over year — up 101%. Unique stories published are up 54%. Average pageviews per pickup are up 42%.
That last number is worth noting. Publishing more is straightforward. Publishing more effectively — where each story is pulling more weight than the one before it — is what a good content habit actually looks like over time.
The updated Story Hub interface, launched earlier this year, gave Tereza a faster way to scan trending content, surface hidden gems, and identify stories that would resonate across multiple Canadian markets. It accelerated a habit that was already working.
One story captures the upside well. "Do you cover your AC unit in the winter?" has generated more than 432,000 page views across the Lodestar network. It surfaced through Story Hub, published in minutes, and continues to drive traffic as an evergreen asset. When it broke into the network's monthly top-50 list — which tracks performance across all content — the team took it as confirmation the content was doing exactly what it was meant to do.
High performers like that one get a second life, too. Tereza embeds them as related links in local coverage, supporting recirculation and extending time on site. Good evergreen content, it turns out, keeps finding new readers.
Beyond the workflow and the numbers, Tereza was asked what sets this partnership apart. She went straight to the relationship.
"The face-to-face contact... that matters. So that's been really great... I really appreciate the personal touch of having this partnership."
For publishers, that's worth taking seriously. It means having someone to call when a story generates 432,000 views and you want to understand what happened. It means a partner invested in how things are going, not just whether the account is active.
For newsrooms thinking through what a content partnership could look like, Lodestar's four-year experience makes a pretty clear case: the editorial standards hold up to daily scrutiny, the return on a few minutes of work compounds over time, and the partnership is built to support the way real publishers actually operate.
Benjamin Chipman is a GenZ brand and content marketer at the intersection of media and storytelling. Informed by his experiences across the creator economy and the TODAY Show, Benjamin has a unique perspective about where traditional and new media converge. Passionate about where brands come together with culture and community, he brings this to all things brand and content at Stacker.
Featured Image Credit: Photo Illustration by Stacker // Canva