Welcome to my blog! 
I’m delighted to have you here, and if you’re not already convinced of the tremendous value your local community newspaper offers to you and your neighbors, I hope I can convince you. I’ve been a fan of local newspapers for as long as I can remember, and it pains me to hear people suggest that newspapers are dying. Nothing could be further from the truth.What newspapers are doing is evolving. Where before you had the options of reading, and/or advertising in the print publication, in many communities you can now place an ad in the paper, publish it on its online edition, blog about your ideas, comment on the articles you read, review products offered for sale, and publish a photo of your new baby, your high school graduation, your favorite pet’s antics, or the great win of your favorite basketball team. You can even have your news or advertising alerts delivered to your mobile phone.All these things are taking place via your local newspaper. Perhaps it hasn’t all happened in every locale as yet, but stick around - it will.
Perhaps you just love newspapers as I do; perhaps you’re part of the newspaper industry; perhaps you’re a skeptic or supporter who just wants to explore the subject. Whoever you are, I hope you’ll stick around and share.
Anyone who comes to the site can comment, and is welcome. If you’d like to take advantage of any of the following free actions please send me an e-mail at CommunityNewspapers@gmail.com so I can make you a contributor with the right to post.
You can post job openings free of charge on the Careers page if you’re a media employer, or post a Situation Wanted notice if you’re looking for work.
- You can also list yourself on the Expertise page, telling us about your areas of expertise.
- You can offer helpful hints, tips and step-by-step Ideas on the Ideas page. If, for example, you’ve put together a great special section, or niche product that grew yor traffric and revenue, here is where you’d talk about it.
- If you and/or your firm offer products and/or services that can help newspapers grow and thrive , feel free to tell us about them on the Products page. If you’re a newspaper working with a vendor whose terrific product or service is helping you thrive, here is where you’d share that with your peers in other markets.
I hope you’ll come back time and again. As with all new blogs, traffic will take some time to build but my pledge is to keep it vibrant, helpful, and timely. I hope you’ll lend a hand in accomplishing that, so we can all help each other.
I’m not going to do a lot of moderating of this blog. I’ll remove openly offensive material - personal attacks, pornography and those filled with generally offensive language. What I won’t be altering are any claims by anyone. If you read a post that says their product is the greatest thing since sliced bread, it’s up to you to determine if that is in fact the case. Ask for a demonstration, ask for the names of other newspaper clients and get their opinion of the product or services. Do not count on the fact that the product is discussed here to be an indication that I endorse the product. I do not. I simply provide this informational forum. Should I hear from several people that someone is touting a harmful false claim I will investigate and if such turns out to be the case, I will remove the post and block the offender.
I’m excited about community newspapers. Certainly the news about these vital and committed neighbors isn’t all good. But it ain’t all bad, either.
