I have been a big bird fan - but I am also checking out the alternatives. For some reason I thought there were a lot of people in science and medicine on this server. Thanks to whoever runs it.👍

My interests are:
#medicine, #science, #covid19, #virology, #immunology, #freethought, #truthvslies, #OpinionsAreNotFacts, #antipropaganda, #personalprivacy, #governmenttransparency, #justice, #peace, #criticalthinking

@ajroach42 There's the question of whether print or other formats are better suited to your goals.

Print is reasonably cheap, but it isn't especially engaging or captivating. Broadcast (and I'm aware you're running a local radio station as well) is a good complement.

A recent realisation, reading on the history of TV news, is that print affords depth of coverage, whilst broadcast affords breadth of audience. Paired, these are a very effective complement. Especially if you don't confuse one with the other (try to go for audience in print and depth in broadcast).

#AntiPropaganda #LocalNews #media #news

@ajroach42 Online distribution could of course reduce costs, and options (website, app, email list, multi-channel) might also provide options. Running a small-town website takes very little infrastructure, though the bulk of cost then shifts to the editorial itself.

Your Facebook/Murder-conspiracy story raises the whole issue of journalistic standards, objectivity, trust, and publisher liability. (An underappreciated role of publishers is their ability to fend off legal suits, warranted or not.)

And to hire effective copy-editors and fact-checkers....

#news #media #LocalNews #AntiPropaganda

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@ajroach42 19th century newspaper press was very strongly partisan, something that changed only in the late 19th and early 20th century. As in, political parties literally owned and ran the publications. (The Arizona Republic was originally the Arizona Republican, as an example.)

Your IGA suggestion might be suited in more ways: grocery stores were, and remain, mainstay advertisers for what few local papers remain. Many are still publishing advertising circulars, and might appreciate some editorial content to help draw in readers. Other hyperlocal businesses might be similarly attracted, though you've got a chicken-egg problem of building circulation to attract advertisers and having enough advertising to support circulation and editorial.

#AntiPropaganda #LocalNews #media #news

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@ajroach42 There's a great book from the early 20th century which looks at the development of advertising an its impact on publishing, especially of periodical (newspaper and magazine) publishing.

Hamilton Holt, Commercialism and Journalism (1909). It's a short, quick, informative read, strongly recommended:
https://archive.org/details/commercialismjou00holtuoft

#news #media #LocalNews #AntiPropaganda

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@ajroach42 There's a host of people who've looked into media and questions concerning it. On the Media and its then-hosts, Brooke Gladstone (remaining) and Bob Garfield (departed) have had a decade-plus occasional series on business models for the newspaper industry (complete with jingle(s)).

News stales fast, local news is, well, hyperlocal. Neither are well-suited to profit-driven enterprise. The main benefit of owning a press has been the propaganda and influence value accrued, through advertising and political thoughtshifting. Direct sales and subscriptions not so much.

#AntiPropaganda #LocalNews #media #news #tootstorm

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@ajroach42 News, local especially, is objectively hard.

You might want to look into the background and history. Think of what your goals are. Invert the question. And look to when there was local news, and how and why that flourished, as well as what its drawbacks were.

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#tootstorm #news #media #LocalNews #AntiPropaganda