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How to start and publish an independent Newspaper
Free Republic ^ | 09/21/2003 | Chad Fairbanks

Posted on 09/21/2003 4:12:17 PM PDT by 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.


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters
KEYWORDS: activismseries; fprag; newspapers
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So, there you have it - a few ideas that will hopefully spark some discussion, ideas, activism, and information.

This is an ongoing work in progress, and is in no way complete.

1 posted on 09/21/2003 4:12:17 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks
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To: Libertina
Ping!
2 posted on 09/21/2003 4:12:44 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks ("People never grow up, they just learn how to act in public." - Bryan White)
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To: Bob J
An Idea Ping...
3 posted on 09/21/2003 4:15:04 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks ("People never grow up, they just learn how to act in public." - Bryan White)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
I like this. Every so often a useful idiot from the Many Races Foundation puts a newsletter in my door. The hucksters are making millions being political rabble rousers.

Aside from that, I have a lot of things and pictures I'd like to put down on paper. Thanks for this thread.
4 posted on 09/21/2003 4:17:26 PM PDT by cyborg (busily translating something fun...)
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To: cyborg
You are welcome - any ideas, etc... are certainly welcome, as well!
5 posted on 09/21/2003 4:18:12 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks ("People never grow up, they just learn how to act in public." - Bryan White)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
bttt
6 posted on 09/21/2003 4:18:19 PM PDT by firewalk
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To: Chad Fairbanks
Another thing you should keep in mind is the focus of the paper in question.

For instance, who will be the bulk of the audience? Which socio-economic group? Will the paper fill a niche in the community, or will be a broad-based news media outlet?

Another thing to consider will be: how are you going to get writers for the paper? College students on a per-word basis, interns, or community members who submit articles on consignment?

Another issue: will the paper be a free paper, dependent on the advertising rates to pay for the costs, or will subscribers/fee pay cover part of the costs? Also, will there be more than one form of the paper (such as online)? Will this be subscription or a freebie?

Finally, How can you generate enough venture capital to invest in the startup costs of the paper? Investors, private donations from charity gropus, or another method? This should be in the business plan.

Finally, for the liberal freaks who steal papers in an effort to prevent the news from being disseminated, there are laws on the books for this form of misbehavior. I know they vary from state to state, but I think it comes down to the cost of the paper per issue for determining the level of the theft charge. I'll have to check further for information.

7 posted on 09/21/2003 4:27:51 PM PDT by Maigrey (Logan for Pinup of the Year!)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
bump & bkmk
8 posted on 09/21/2003 4:30:10 PM PDT by wizardoz (Bomb France.)
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To: Maigrey
Thanks for the input - There are so many variables that need to be kept in mind for a venture such as this. I know there are conservatives out there who have done things such as this in colleges around the country, so I'm hoping to draw upon the wealth of experience out there...

I'm in the 'research' phase for this right now, and I know that FReepers are a great source of information (as your reply shows)...
9 posted on 09/21/2003 4:40:22 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks ("People never grow up, they just learn how to act in public." - Bryan White)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
What are the legal issues involved?

This is a good question – one that I have relatively few answers for

The legal thing is the part that would worry me most. Each city has an alternate newspaper, and they have three things in common: they're left wing, they're full of ads, and they never get sued.

I've seen some outrageous reporting in alternate newspapers, but these left wing papers get a pass on whatever they say and no advertisers pull away from them.

I'm quite sure a Conservative alternate newspaper wouldn't get the same treatment as a left wing paper. Print one column that "offends" liberals and the liberal double standard would kick in: Advertisers would be pressured to pull out, lawsuits would have to be paid for, and the paper racks would be vandelized.

Feedom of the press is a one-way road to radical liberals, and that's probably why you don't see any Conservative alternate newspapers in the local coffee shop rack.
10 posted on 09/21/2003 4:44:55 PM PDT by Noachian (Liberalism belongs to the Fool, the Fraud, and the Vacuous.)
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To: Noachian
Well, because of this threat, do we just roll over and not try? Because by doing that, they win.

You raise good, valid points, but to just give in means we lose by default. SOme things ARE worth fighting for, and our values should be one of them :0)

11 posted on 09/21/2003 4:54:22 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks ("People never grow up, they just learn how to act in public." - Bryan White)
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To: Noachian; Chad Fairbanks; Chancellor Palpatine; Scenic Sounds
That is a discouraging aspect.

I wonder if adequate use of disclaimers would solve the problem. (Pinging a couple of guys who might have some idea.)

Chad - I also wonder whether talking to or teaming up with someone from one of our two local conservative radio stations might be a good place to start. (Maybe someone here has contact with one of the local hosts.) They deal with a lot of the same issues, I would imagine, and maybe they could give you some good information.
12 posted on 09/21/2003 4:56:41 PM PDT by DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet ("Mary, help!" - General Wesley Clark, presidential candidate)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
BTTT LOL You really don't let any grass grow, do you? Now I'm going to go back and read it all :)
13 posted on 09/21/2003 4:56:56 PM PDT by Libertina (Puget Sound FReeper Chapter Rocks!)
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To: Libertina
Well, I may goof off a lot, but I do take stuff seriously on occasion LOL...
14 posted on 09/21/2003 4:57:41 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks ("People never grow up, they just learn how to act in public." - Bryan White)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
Well, there has to be a way to solve the problem. Conservative radio stations and web sites probably have the same issues, and they're out there.
15 posted on 09/21/2003 4:58:06 PM PDT by DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet ("Mary, help!" - General Wesley Clark, presidential candidate)
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To: DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet
Good idea - perhaps, another aspect too is that local host might know of people who can help in other ways, as well. It's certainly worth a shot!
16 posted on 09/21/2003 4:58:23 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks ("People never grow up, they just learn how to act in public." - Bryan White)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
Call it "The Armadillo Times". ; )
17 posted on 09/21/2003 4:58:46 PM PDT by DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet ("Mary, help!" - General Wesley Clark, presidential candidate)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
Problem is, many of the large circulation mainstream papers are running scared right now...

Internet.
18 posted on 09/21/2003 4:59:16 PM PDT by djf
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To: Noachian
three things in common: they're left wing, they're full of ads, and they never get sued
Correct... Unlike Jim Robinson and FR. Now even the Onion is pitching a hissy for posting and discussing their articles once in a while... However, since WE'LL be doing the publishing I think we can forge ahead.
19 posted on 09/21/2003 5:00:02 PM PDT by Libertina (Puget Sound FReeper Chapter Rocks!)
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To: djf
Not just the internet, but also because they pretty much suck.

The option also exists for this to be done online as well. This idea is certainly not limited to just actual print media, but online as well :0)
20 posted on 09/21/2003 5:00:25 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks ("People never grow up, they just learn how to act in public." - Bryan White)
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