The Challenge
Gray Media’s National Digital Content Desk was designed to help 120+ local stations scale their coverage without compromising what matters most: editorial integrity and community trust. Equipped with a lean central team and high performance expectations, they needed a solution that could deliver national and data-driven stories that aligned with local standards—without adding production burden or risking audience trust.
“When I first started, the team was just me. We didn’t have time to produce deep-data explainers or specialized content. We needed quality support that felt like an extension of our newsroom.” - Debra Worley, Digital Content News Director @ Gray Media
The Solution
Rather than acting as a content vendor, Stacker functions as a strategic editorial partner embedded in Gray Media’s workflow.
When Gray first began working with Stacker, their national desk was a team of one. “We didn’t have the resources to produce the depth of data-driven content Stacker offered,” Debra shared. “It felt like a newsroom extension from day one.” As the team scaled, Stacker didn’t become less valuable—it became more adaptable.
What sets the partnership apart is the level of responsiveness and editorial intelligence built into account success:
“If I say, ‘hey, can you do more stories like this?’ the content shifts—and then it performs. That doesn’t happen with other partners.” - Debra Worley
Stacker’s Publisher Success team engages proactively, surfacing briefed story highlights and recommendations through digest emails that Gray uses weekly to guide editorial planning. Debra often repurposes Stacker’s digest copy for internal summaries and push alerts—an indicator of how “publish-ready” the content arrives.
Rather than locking into a single model, Stacker flexes according to Gray’s needs: whether supporting holiday trend explainers, driving push alerts, or filling national coverage gaps without eating into local capacity.
Above all, Stacker’s newsroom heritage and editorial standards build trust.
“Your team speaks the language of journalism. The way you handle feedback, your willingness to improve—it feels like working with editors, not vendors.” -Debra Worley
The Results
As Stacker refined story formats based on performance insights, Gray’s team began to integrate Stacker selectively—but confidently—into their weekly editorial lineup. Rather than chasing volume, they pull one to two stories a week that they know will perform.
And they do perform.
🎯 Impact Highlights
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100K+ page views from a single Stacker explainer
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Consistent KPI alignment, with Stacker stories achieving or exceeding benchmarks for: page views, push alert opens, and click-through rates
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Every story selected this quarter has performed, earning its place in the content lineup
📌 Editorial trust maintained: zero content escalations or community misalignment
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Stacker content used weekly for holiday and trending story coverage, reducing production time
Debra explains it best:
“I wasn’t expecting Stacker to adapt to us. Most partners just give you what they have. You all change what you do to help us succeed—and when that happens, we see results.” - Debra Worley
One of the strongest indicators of value isn’t volume, but choice.
“For us, running one or two stories that truly perform is success. Stacker understands that. There’s no pressure for quantity—just alignment and quality.” - Debra Worley
💬 Closing Thought
Stacker’s publisher-first approach paired with high journalistic standards and a deeply collaborative customer success model enables Gray Media to strategically scale national coverage—without compromising local trust or stretching newsroom capacity.
“It’s more than we expected. The content keeps getting better, and the partnership keeps getting stronger.” - Debra Worley
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