How to start and publish an independent Newspaper

Free Republic ^ | 09/21/2003 | Chad Fairbanks

[Chad Fairbanks]

How To Start An Independent Newspaper

First off, let me be blunt: The last time I was involved in anything like this, was during the 1980s when I helped create and distribute a ‘newsletter’ – a cheap little ‘paper’ printed by a friend at a local print shop in the middle of the night, and distributed by hand in school during the day.

As such, I am posting this article from a perspective having a distinct lack of experience, in order to spark discussions, to learn from others more experienced than I, and to hopefully spark some creative ideas, solutions, and information from other FReepers.

So, without further ado, allow me to lay out some ideas, concepts, and such in order to begin the discussion.

What is an Alternative newspaper?

An Alternative Newspaper is a newspaper that provides news, opinions, or information that one would usually not find in the many mainstream daily newspapers which are published in cities and towns across the country. The term ‘Alternative’, is a word in modern parlance that is now devoid of any true meaning. What was once considered ‘alternative’ is now part of the mainstream culture. For our purposes, the word ‘alternative’ means something that is different than the mainstream liberal publications, as it pertains to print media.

Why would I want to start one?

Have you ever been at a bus top, subway station, or a music store, and seen free, independent ‘alternative’ newspapers sitting in racks? Have you ever noticed how often they are left-wing publications? Other than being more extreme, they are often not all that different from the mainstream newspapers. Wouldn’t you like to see one that espouses a conservative viewpoint for a change? Well, that’s not going to happen by itself. Someone needs to step up to the plate and get involved.

You may love to write, or perhaps you want an outlet for other creative ideas, such as cartooning. Perhaps you are tired of the local mainstream daily newspaper ignoring stories of local importance, or covering it with an obvious bias?

The simple answer is simply, “Why not?”

What should I do first?

Plan, plan, and plan some more. Creating, publishing, and distributing a newspaper is not any easy job. You must create a plan that will help you determine your goals, what you hope to accomplish, and how you are going to achieve what you set out to do. Much like a Business Plan – not only will this plan help to keep you on track, it may also help to secure funding.

Find a group of like-minded people in your area to help you. As you begin to plan, determine what skills they have, in order to determine what their responsibilities and duties will be. Each person will bring unique abilities to the table, and you must find a way to tap into those strengths.

What will your paper be called? What will its focus be? How often will you publish? How will you fund the publishing and distribution? How will you distribute it?

All these question, and many more, will need to be answered in your plan.

How will I pay for it?

Without a secure reliable source of revenue, you will never get your paper off the ground. The best plan in the world will not help you, if you are unable to implement it. So, how would you go about securing the funding necessary to launch your newspaper? There are many ways, and how you go about it may be different than how others do. You may choose to raise money through bake sales, or by approaching small businesses in your area to run ads. You may secure grants through sympathetic foundations or organizations, through donations from private individuals, or by paid subscriptions from readers.

How you intend to fund the venture should be a major part of your plan.

How will I publish my newspaper?

How you choose to print and publish your newspaper is important. Anyone can run to Kinko’s and run off 100 copies of a piece of paper. Actually publishing a newspaper, on the other hand, requires a little more work and planning.

One option is to approach a small local newspaper, and pay for a printing job. Many small newspapers perform third-party printing work in order to make extra money. You will be required, usually, to provide a camera-ready work for them to print. There are some software packages that can assist you in preparing a camera-ready work. An example would be Quark XPress, which can provide camera-ready artwork in PDF format.

How you prepare your newspaper copy will be determined by your printer. Many will have specific requirements, and when choosing a printer it is important to determine what their requirements are and whether you are able to meet those requirements.

How will I distribute my newspaper?

The manner in which you distribute your newspaper will again vary, depending on your needs, circumstances, and locality. You may be able to negotiate a deal by becoming an insert within another published paper. Another option would be to pay for placement through a company in your area that provides this type of service. The next time you are in a supermarket, or at a bus stop and you see the newspaper racks, check it out and find the information about the company that provides the racks and the space. Contact them and find out about placement for your paper.

Another option would be mail-order, home delivery, or you and some friends could hand them out to passers-by at a local shopping center.

When distributing, be creative. The more you distribute, the more people you will reach with your message.

A word of warning: Liberals, being intolerant as they are, have been know to steal and destroy as many copies of conservative papers as they can get their hands on. Depending on your area, you may need to take this type of activity into account. Secondly, they have also been known to slip inserts into other newspapers. Again, this may be something you need to watch for.

What are the legal issues involved?

This is a good question – one that I have relatively few answers for. The obvious one, which revolve around Libel, is something that I hope any lawyers here can answer. Other issues may include incorporating, LLCs, etc. which vary from locale to locale.

[Chad Fairbanks]

I'd prefer avoiding being officially affiliated with any party - it doesn't mean excluding parties completely, mind you... but that's just my own feelings on the matter - others may think otherwise...

Anyone else have any thoughts on this matter?

[Chad Fairbanks]

Don't think that I'm dismissing your idea out of hand, mind you :0)

[Doctor Stochastic]

One type of thing (real easy) that's popular here are short weekly columns with things like "Santa Fé's Winners and Losers" (a short list with one or two sentences per item) and "What People Are Talking About" with one or two sentences. These should only take a few hours to write up and allow quick commentary on timely items.

One advantage is that you don't have to cover breaking news or sports.

Of course, the only relevant items are advertising, advertising, and advertising. Everything else is just to get people to look at (and perchance to read) the ads.

[CyberCowboy777]

We could get support (read distribution) by allowing submissions from the Parties candidates to questions we pose. We would have an objective roll in administrating a Conservative debate in a paper.

We could even ask the dems to participate. Our goal is to get out the real information and ask the tough questions - at the same time interesting the conservative parties to support or at least pass around the paper.

Also would we allow op-ed pieces from candidates?

What about political advertising, clearly marked as such?

[Chad Fairbanks]

Thanks for your input! Much appreciated!

[Chad Fairbanks]

Well, if "Big Media" can endorse candidates, why couldn't we simply interview candidates, and let people make up their own minds? The idea has some merit, provided we don't lose focus of the objective of what we are doing, and why.

I need to think some more on clearly-marked political advertising - if anyone else has thoughts or comments on that, I'd love to hear them.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Thanks for your input - it's very much appreciated. If you have any other ideas, or input, or comments, feel free to share them!

[CyberCowboy777]

Interviewing candidates is important IMNSHO.

The questions the "Big Media" won't ask, the logic the "Big Media" ignores.

But you are right - if we are not careful we would be seen as an extension of the State GOP - they already have a newsletter.

[bigfootbob]

I meant to include you needed a prototype of the product to present to potential partners with my last email, sorry I wasn't clear. The more I think about it, instead of screwing with Vance, go to the County Chairs if they are go-getters, (unlike ex-King County Chair Reed Davis), or target the movers and shakers on each County Executive Boards where you plan to distribute the paper. You'll be surprised at the support you'll receive.

Here in Kitsap, I hear the phrase everyday "that d!$* liberal news." The Bremerton Sun has even instituted a new letters to the editor policy because someone DARED to cut and paste some info from the RNC website and include the truth in a letter!!!! (a high shrieking scream)

We have an on-line conservative website to submit links to. Check out the link and send Mary an email she might have some words of wisdom. There's a Mason County sister site also. http://www.commonsensekitsap.com/

[Doctor Stochastic]

It might be worthwhile to take at least a semesters worth of journalism. Maybe at a community college (cheaper than the big schools.) Or you could try the library for a couple of texts on publishing. Try a GOOGLE search on: publish alternative newspaper, to see if there are any ideas there.

Get a business manager first; check on taxes, salaries, legalities, etc. Even if you don't make any money, it's still a business.

[bigfootbob]

You're right, you don't want to be a mouth piece for the R's. You just want their database. It should be designed to be mutually beneficial. Libertarians and most right leaning organizations should be axed for support.

Most would probably jump on board, it's in their interest, doncha think?

[Doctor Stochastic]

There's a website called "Association of Alternative Newsweeklies" that might be of interest.

There are several such papers around here.

The Santa Fé Reporter is a left-leaning general paper.
The Sun is (was?) a new-age back-to-the-Earth oriented paper.
Crosswinds is a left-leaning-organic-food paper from Albuquerque (with at least one right wing columnist.)
The Alibi is a music-arts-food paper from Albuquerque.

Restaurant reviews are another source of articles. Go; eat; write.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Thanks for the link - will check it out... :0)

[Chad Fairbanks]

Exactly - we dont' want to be like the big media, we want to do what they don't do - tell the truth, be as fair as possible, and have integrity...

[Chad Fairbanks]

As far as the business side, that's pretty well covered, I think - I've had experience recently in setting up a business. It couldnt' hurt to have others assist in that, however, as things change frequently...

[Chad Fairbanks]

I would think so, but sometimes the parties do things for strange reasons, lacking in logic... However, dong what we can to drum up support can never really hurt us - as long as we don't sell out our principles in order to get support.

[Chad Fairbanks]

I don't know about rest. reviews - seems almost like fluff, to me, and detracts from teh focus. However, if it was a conservative business owner that we interviewed in order to get their perspective on the business climate in their area, that would be close enough, don't ya think? :0)

[Maigrey]

Well, to be perfectly fair, I learned about deadlines while in high school. (I had a really tough coach who ingrained the discipline of punctuality and deadlines. It was well worth it!

By the end of college, you still have most of the kids with clips, and some with more. I'd set the standard a little higher.

[CyberCowboy777]

What about PACs?

Advertising, OP-EDs, cooperation?

The local BIA has a nice little newsletter and they are spending allot of money working in local and state government and elections. They have interested members and those members have employees.

I am sure they would love to get the message out to ‘others’ outside the industry.

We are working on a little database that will allow them to track and contact voters (using the Auditors spreadsheets) who are members or employees of members.

[Maigrey]

I'd love to see that in the local papers. Alas, the mold for the last 200 years has been to print the sensational negative news. I'm waiting for the sensational positive news.