Can a local paper survive in a world where less and less people even touch a paper today? Not only must it survive but it should thrive! It’s essential that those stories which the other papers won’t touch are still being heard whether it be concerning political corruption, a new business in the area, sports and entertainment etc. there needs to be a source where information from the community can be heard. Yet how can it can become profitable competing against the national names here (below) are just a few ways this can occur.
(1) Provide unbiased and unfiltered information to the community with insightful commentary that other papers might ignore.
(2) Provide a basic newspaper free to the entire community but offer Gold, Silver, & Platinum packages. These packages would provide services that would be far less expensive then if individual incurred.
(3) Have Vanity Newspapers where you or your loved ones can celebrate special event (birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, sport or musical achievements etc) can be listed in the front page with other news in the middle and sent out to various friends and family.
(4) Provide a full detail calendar that has all the community events listed from various political, cultural, business and religious institutions in the community. The amount that is charged for the listing will depend on the space, location and the format that this event is shown on. video’s on Youtube, Facebook page, to a local radio station.
(5) Have a presence at various political, religious and cultural discussions in the community.
(6) Work with established local advertisers such as coupon books and Penny saver for the mutual benefit of both organizations.
(7) Provide critical reviews of local restaurants and cultural events as well as having insightful interviews to their stars.
(8) Work with the local police & fire departments to provide an immediate response for various alerts to the community.
(9) Have a faith column where local clergy can write about their perspective on the times that we are living in.