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The
reasons for wanting to start a newspaper are many. Some people
simply desire a business of their own. Others want to give their
community better representation in the press. I started my
newspaper because I wanted to help the people of my area
communicate more effectively with each other.
The specific reason isn't always as important as the willingness
to take that first step – to actually start a paper. Newspaper
publishing is both exciting and rewarding. It’s still work (and
plenty of it) but it also provides opportunities and rewards
most careers never will.
Newspaper work is at least as demanding as any other job.
When you get tired of taking pictures, interviewing people,
selling ads, building ads, writing stories and arranging pages
(not to mention making deadlines), you will still need to crank
out papers. Passion for the dream will help keep the business
going, but you will also need backbone and a strong commitment
to excellence. You will need heart. Good friends and
strong allies are not a bad thing, either.
Digital technology has made the work less
time consuming and less costly than it was in the old days.
You can now produce a great local newspaper with little more
than a computer, a camera, and some good software. It is
even possible for one person or a husband and wife team to own
and operate their own newspaper business — as hundreds do across
the United States alone.
Understanding the Basics
The first rule of
the newspaper business is that it is a business. If you pay
attention to the details of managing your work, your time and
your money, you will very likely succeed. if you procrastinate
in your work, get careless about collecting and spending money,
you will very likely fail. In any kind of business. And the news
business is no exception.
But if you enjoy
talking to people, listening to people, helping people, and
generally being a part of the good things that happen in your
area, you can build up a business that is fun, exciting, and
rewarding in many ways. It takes a lot of work. but the work is
meaningful. You will see results right away, and your
accomplishments will continue to grow as long as you operate the
paper in a professional manner.
Will you get rich?
It's possible. Some publishers become very wealthy. And not just
historical figures back east or powerful people in big cities.
Many do become millionaires. But that usually has to be part of
the goal. The greatest reward in the newspaper business, in my
opinion, is the ability a good paper has to enrich and empower
the people and the region it serves.
I will say this
several times: You do not need a special education, special
training, or special skills of any kind to make it as a
newspaper publisher. What you mainly need is the determination
to do an excellent job where too many others are only working
for a paycheck.
Strive for
excellence. Everyone makes mistakes. Running a periodical
publication multiplies the opportunities you will have to make
mistakes. Spelling errors, including the misspelled names of
important people (and by important people, I mean anyone and
everyone, both children and adults). Factual errors, from wrong
dates, wrong times, wrong places, and things that just never
happened. At least not the way the paper ends up saying they
did. Missing pages, missing headings, missing ads, ads from the
wrong year, and the list goes on. And on. But when you own up to
the errors and find out how they happened, and make them right,
things will still go wrong.
Whatever you do,
never blame publishing errors on your sources, your employees,
your interns, your spouse, your dog or your cat. Especially not
on your cat. They never forget and only seldom forgive. Not
really.
When we strive for
excellence, we have a better chance of moving in that direction.
If we give up on excellence, we will never get close. Excellence
in publishing shows that you honor your readers, your community,
your critics and enemies. And that you honor your work as a news
professional. The Romans were right, when it came to the high
value of honor. It matters. And it always shows in the work
accomplished.
People who operate
small newspapers usually do so because they love what they do.
They know they matter. They believe with all their heart that
their readers and the causes of the local community matter. Yes,
even the local leaders matter. Especially when, with the
combined effort of everyone, something good & lasting gets
accomplished. And that does happen. Which is why local papers
exist. Someone has to help those making an effort. And someone
has to publish every victory.
When you are the
publisher of the local newspaper, that someone is you.
Read More: Why Start A Local Paper? |
