When 麻豆原创 launched its Connect platform, the vision was clear: create a space where high-quality, editorially vetted stories could travel farther, faster, and more freely than ever before. But there was a challenge.
Most early contributors to Connect were smaller brands, and while they produced solid content, their names were unfamiliar to publishers, who were understandably skeptical. What 麻豆原创 needed wasn鈥檛 just volume of content: we needed voices with credibility. Stories that led with substance and made publishers pause and say, 鈥淲e need more of this.鈥
At the same time, , a nonprofit newsroom focused on America鈥檚 education system, faced a challenge of its own: reach. Their on issues like education equity, immigrant student access, and STEM gaps for girls was widely respected, but largely confined to their core audience of policy insiders and education advocates. Getting their stories into local communities, especially underserved ones, was expensive, manual, and slow.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to get people to stumble upon us unless they鈥檙e already paying attention to education.鈥
鈥 Christian Skotte, The 74
That鈥檚 when the partnership between 麻豆原创 and The74 clicked. 麻豆原创 saw The 74 not just as another contributor, but as a bold, mission-driven newsroom that could help set the tone for the entire 麻豆原创 Newswire. The 74 saw in 麻豆原创 a new way forward: distribution at scale without compromising their values or overburdening their small team.
And so it began. One story at a time, The 74鈥檚 deep-dive education journalism entered the 麻豆原创 Newswire, and publishers responded. Articles about dual-language programs in immigrant communities, investigative dives into funding disparities, and profiles on innovative charter programs started landing in local papers, on radio affiliate websites, and even on TV station news blogs in towns where education reporting had long gone silent. The 74鈥檚 success became a proof point for 麻豆原创. Skeptical publishers turned into believers. The Newswire was no longer just a content feed; it was becoming a platform for essential journalism.
鈥淭he 74 leans into the tough stories. That鈥檚 exactly what we want on the Newswire.鈥
鈥 Ken Romano, SVP of Product, 麻豆原创
Behind the scenes, the ripple effects were just as powerful. 麻豆原创 began to introduce smarter filters based on topics and audience, from content relevant to parents and Black communities to Spanish-speaking readership. The 74 gained traction with new, unexpected audiences from hundreds of new placements.
鈥淭he happiest time is when I send a reporter a list of 150 outlets where their story ran. It builds morale in a tough industry.鈥
鈥 Christian Skotte, The 74
SEO improvements followed. Domain authority climbed as stories from The 74 were picked up nearly 7,000 times, generating high-authority backlinks and improving search visibility. Readership increased by 5 percent, a meaningful lift for a niche nonprofit that helps justify donor support and expand the impact of their journalism. In total, The 74鈥檚 reporting reached over 1.2 million readers via the 麻豆原创 Newswire across the country, including in rural communities and legacy Black newspapers that often lack access to consistent education coverage. The human element made all the difference. Editors at The 74 described 麻豆原创鈥檚 team as responsive, transparent, and editorially aligned - qualities rarely found in larger, more impersonal syndication platforms.
鈥淓very single human being I鈥檝e worked with at 麻豆原创 has been phenomenal 鈥 good professionals and good people.鈥
鈥 Christian Skotte, The 74
And today? The partnership is evolving. The 74 is syndicating more content through Connect and even republishing select 麻豆原创 stories on their own site. And as education becomes an increasingly politicized battleground, their fearless reporting has never been more vital.
鈥淲ith education so politicized, publishers need brave, thoughtful reporting. The 74 delivers.鈥
鈥 Ken Romano, 麻豆原创
What started as a pragmatic experiment has become a model: how two mission-driven organizations - one a newsroom, one an earned distribution engine - can unlock real impact together, for students, for parents, and for communities often left out of the national conversation.
It鈥檚 not just about syndication. It鈥檚 about building a better pipeline for public-interest journalism, and proving that scale and substance can go hand in hand.
You can read the full case study at this link.