12 Ways to Get a Newspaper or
Local Magazine Going Strong
Got a digital
camera and a computer? You can start your own small town or
community newspaper or regional magazine. Really.
Ok, it takes a little more than that.
But you really can start publishing with little more than a
camera and computer. Most of what you need is already
inside you. As for equipment and software, you can usually
find what you need for very little, at least to start with.
Worried about
the existing competition? It may not be as bad as you think.
Even if you have several news
and/or
"shopper" publications in your area that seem to cover just about
everything, you may
find there is still room (and a need) in the local marketplace for you and your new
publication.
Don't give up on the idea without making sure the market is fully
covered and properly served.
See more on measuring the
competition.
See a
quick list of basic startup steps.
1. Pet photos
- Have a pet lover's column where readers send in photos of their
pets. You can have a weekly or monthly contest for
the best photo, ugliest pet, cutest animal, etc. Make
sure you get a local business or two involved, to award the prize. (Get
a newspaper photo of the winner at the business or with
representatives of the businesses involved. This photo and the
details will make a nice little feature article for the paper.)
2. Fish
stories - Just like the above pet photo contest, you can include
a special column for fishermen and their sport. They can send a
photo of themselves with their prize catch. For
local events, you can get your own photos of special fishing
events. An interesting alternative is to include photos of
readers' fishing boats. Remember to get local businesses
involved to donate and award prizes.
3. Politics -
Always cover local politics. Get photos, stories and details
on every politician and local leader. Cover school board and
town meetings. Get comments and info from
all participants. Look for some interesting history on
important decisions to flesh out the story and to provide better
insight. These details not only make your coverage more interesting and newsworthy,
they can often lead to other feature and human stories.
4. Landmarks, tourist info - Stay current on the tourist
attractions in your
area. Know every park, every trail, every attraction. Make your paper an
important source of fresh information for tourists and visitors.
You may also consider providing a section
for tourist related businesses in your area. Give some
special attention to the museums and the special
efforts of civic clubs in the area.
5. Graduations,
promotions
- Preschool, high school, or college graduations are great
material for any local paper to cover. Get plenty of photos, and
get background on the schools, teachers, and students. Try to
include a photo of every graduating student in your paper, even if
it takes several issues. be sure (and double sure) to spell the
names correctly and to get the right name with the right photos.
This is easy journalism, and at the very root of some of the best
news coverage for any local paper.
6. Holidays -
Never miss a holiday. There's a reason (and a
good story) for every holiday of the year. Some holidays are
very big productions, worthy of a special issue or two. As
well as the traditions specific to your community, dig for
historical stories about holidays in decades past. Every family and
every town has a great holiday tale to tell. Always include fresh
photos of the season, and try for images that help to capture the
spirit of the occasion.
7. The unusual
and unexpected - Make room every issue for a photo or story that
stands out as unusual and out of the ordinary. Along these lines,
you can include fillers or even a special little column on words
and their meaning, as well as the origins, history and usage
through the years (that is, the etymology. The same can be done
with automobiles, houses (styles), or any industry or practice
specific to your area. (Be sure to see
On Assignment: Getting the Story)
8. Sports,
Music, Theater - You already know that entertainment is
popular. Sports events, from peewee games to high school and
college games, theatrical and musical events, both inside and
outside at civic parks, and other crowd-pleasing special
attractions are both fun to cover and of interest to readers.
Rodeos, baseball games, races and runs and walks, all these and
other occasions can fill a whole issue of a small paper with
photos, stories, historical bits and interviews.
9. Event
calendar or
page - Conventions, church events, business sales, seminars and
promotions, college campus events, and other community efforts and
events deserve a push. Provide a section or column that mentions
all such special activities and events. Include a photo or two of very special
events. Include contact information. Do this without charge,
as a public service but keep it brief. Touch base with event organizers/promoters
to suggest an ad.
10. Newlyweds,
engagements, and newborn babies - Make room in the paper for
readers to announce their happy times. Be sure to get
connected with hospitals and stay up with marriage licenses, etc.
so you can publish notices of upcoming weddings, even if family
members forget. Provide concise details free of charge and
offer to run a small photo for a low price to cover the cost of
the space. A number of businesses will want to advertise in this section of the paper.
11. New
stuff - You may
want to include news of new home construction, new business
permits, and other such signs of commercial growth in your area. Obviously,
you will want to run stories on new businesses in town, and to
cover existing businesses whenever they have some significant new
product or service to offer. Big expansions at a local mall or
shopping center, new locations/ownership for long-time businesses and even
seasonal changes to hours are worthy of some mention.
12. News
stories galore - Whenever you get a bit of information for one of
the columns of features listed above, always be looking for the
bigger story.
Many of the
most ordinary and recurring events and
stories gathered in day-to-day newspaper publishing provide the
seedlings for bigger stories, or even a whole series of stories in your
newspaper.
When you get wind of a local crafts fair, you may not
have to dig much to gather some great stories on local artists.
And then there is the "where are they now?" stories to run on some
of the high school and college grads you mentioned a couple of
years ago.
The more you
get to know the men, women and children, the people-behind-the
events and celebrations, the more in touch you will be with your
community, and the more you will be able to tell about what is
good and growing and positive about your area.
Next:
Small Newspapers are Big Business |
