How It Started: The News You Need with Jim Draper, EVP of NewsBank's Cannabis NewsHub

As part of our “How It Started” interview series, we had the pleasure of chatting with Jim Draper, Executive Vice President at NewsBank’s Cannabis NewsHub, a provider of essential news and information for cannabis industry professionals.
They talked to hundreds of us in the industry to better understand our challenges in finding reliable, comprehensive coverage specific to the industry and the topics most important to them. They bring information about the industry together by aggregating licensed cannabis-related content from over 13,000 publications, including global, regional, national and local news as well as 50+ industry specific sources. Then Cannabis NewsHub uses proprietary algorithms, based on each user’s information needs, to deliver the information they want, when they want it.

Thanks for joining us! What was it about cannabis that first piqued your interest, and when did that happen?

Great question, and thanks for the opportunity to tell our story! Believe it or not, the idea for Cannabis NewsHub came from libraries across the U.S., not initially from people involved in the cannabis business.

The parent company of Cannabis NewsHub is Naples, FL-based NewsBank, Inc., which creates news aggregations for researchers in libraries across the globe. We have nearly 20,000 different news sources, some of them historical (from a long time ago) but most of them current (publishing fresh news daily). These sources include traditional newspapers, web news feeds, blogs, broadcasts transcripts, and specialist publications.

About three years ago we noticed two very clear trends in our news databases:

1. Explosive growth of news covering cannabis and hemp–mostly the result of legalization debates in nearly all fifty states.

2. Concurrently, users of our databases–in academic and public libraries–were searching for cannabis-related topics like crazy, looking at local, national and international content. Legalization was the top search, but users quickly started exploring medical applications, business opportunities, supply-chain questions and local news–retail outlets opening in their own neighborhoods, for example.

When we saw these two trends come together, alongside the explosive growth in cannabis-related businesses, we realized there might be an interest in a specialized product–covering the entire spectrum of the industry and aimed at professionals in the space. We attended major cannabis conferences and talked with hundreds of attendees. We were told, “Yes, we need current and relevant news so we can grow our businesses and compete better.” That’s when we realized that Cannabis NewsHub could turn into a whole new business for us.

What is Cannabis NewsHub all about? What makes your company unique?

Cannabis NewsHub is designed to give customers daily updates on the cannabis matters they really care about. It’s a huge aggregation of content–millions and millions of articles but we know that most customers only have time to monitor the news in the areas that matter most to their business.

Sure, there are lots of generalists, but the typical user of Cannabis NewsHub wants to watch the trends in areas of specific interest to them, like distribution, security, agriculture, banking, business management, or statutes/regulations. Users have limited time, and they value getting only the information they need most. That’s why we designed Cannabis NewsHub to do several things at once:

1. Provide a general daily update on all matters cannabis. We add hundreds of new articles per day to accomplish this.

2. Provide a regular, hyper-specific update on a narrow topic the user can create for themselves, delivered straight to the customer’s inbox.

3. For example, a user can create a daily update on topics that look like this: “Distribution in Detroit”; “Banking regulations in Colorado”; “Pet treats in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania”; and (truly) millions more.

4. For users who need to monitor a broad segment, we provide pre-packaged daily updates on crucial matters like “Food Industry,” “Investor News,” “Seeds and Fertilization,” “Medical Marijuana,” “Society and Culture,” and a lot more.

What does your typical day look like and what do you enjoy most about your work?

We couldn’t accomplish the above without the extraordinary content assets we make available to our customers, so much of my day is spent assessing and acquiring content. Right now, we have two primary types of content:

1. General news: cannabis news from sources like the Miami Herald, Kansas City Star, Chicago Sun-Times, Denver Post, and thousands more (including lots of international sources).

2. Specialty publications that cover all aspects of the cannabis world. Cannabis NewsHub has great strength here that is completely unmatched elsewhere. Just a few examples are Marijuana Business Daily; Cannabis Business Executive; Hemp Industry Daily; WeedWeek; Ganjapreneur; M2 Cannabis Industry Insights; Marijuana Stox; Marijuana Venture; High Times, from inception all the way to today, in all its editions (web, print, etc.); and dozens of others.

A lot of time is also spent exploring how our sources are working for customers. I stay pretty busy looking for new sources and for new ways to use our existing sources–and to present them more effectively.

What is one mistake you’ve made that you want to prevent other cannabis industry professionals from making?

We entered the cannabis market a little over two years ago after ample research about needs among the legal community, but perhaps not enough on the retail and agriculture segments. Back then, our product was more of a “research database.” It didn’t provide the daily updates I discussed earlier, so it wasn’t hitting the mark yet with customers, so we continued to refine the product until it met the need.

The good news is that we still provide the “research database” product to customers who need extremely deep research assets and want to search them in targeted ways. We’ve found that customers in the legal segment and those with advocacy missions, for example, value the deeper research model. For them, we include a content set that goes all the way back to the beginning of the eighteenth century! Some of our customers now take both versions–Cannabis NewsHub and Cannabis NewsBank: Research Edition.

What has been the highlight of your cannabis career to date?

Attending conferences! I’ve been in the publishing business for 35 years and have attended so many industry conferences that I’ve lost count. Has to be in the hundreds.

Never–until now–have I encountered such a motivated, engaging and mission-driven group of people. Absolutely top-notch in every way, and fun–great senses of humor. They are also so willing to share their thoughts and ideas. Cannabis NewsHub emerged 100% from conversations with attendees at these conferences–so that’s another reason for me to call them a highlight!

What’s one cannabis trend that excites you?

The market is expanding, and not just in the U.S. It’s a global phenomenon now, and that gives even more purpose to Cannabis NewsHub. This trend of expansion is perfect for the news aggregation we do. We make it easy for our customers to receive and find content that will help them specifically. It also makes my job a lot more interesting because I see many new types of customers in our future.

Can you tell us one cannabis-related idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Read more about the industry and your competition! Sounds obvious, but it bears repeating. The more you know about your business, the more successful you are likely to be. Learning takes time and effort. It comes from experience, but also from studying the experiences of others. That’s where the reading comes in...

Any advice you would give to someone looking to enter the cannabis market?

Keep up with the constantly changing laws, regulations and trends. Network within the industry and of course subscribe to Cannabis NewsHub to help you keep up.

What is the biggest change you want to see in the cannabis industry?

On a personal level, I hope to see more legalization outside the United States. There’s a hunger for it, and it is happening, but I accept it will take time. Lots of history to overcome, and many local issues to address first.

What’s next for you? What should we be on the lookout for?

I am obsessed with ensuring that customers get exactly what they need, every day, and with the quickest possible pathway to it. That means continuous refinement of the Cannabis NewsHub experience–new sources and features to help our customers. Our big focus now is on helping customers construct personal topics that work perfectly for them. We are exploring the creation of in-product guidance to help make this happen.

I am also focusing serious energy on pulling forward the local news we have in such abundance. It is very clear that customers want to know what’s going on in their backyards and those of others. This is crucial to competing successfully. Cannabis NewsHub has the content to make this happen–no question about it. Now I want to be certain that customers have a great way to find it and to make use of it.

Bottom line: There’s always work to be done to provide the content that can help our customers achieve their goals or resolve issues they might have. As we learn more, we’ll make changes to create a better experience for everybody. Meanwhile, my colleagues and I are tremendously grateful to our customers. They motivate us, teach us and give us all manner of purpose.