Readers save a small-town Michigan newspaper - Entrepreneur Generations

Longmoore covers a public meeting in Saline. (Bridge photo by Jack Nissen)

And now for some heart-warming news out of central Michigan. The Saline Post is an online-only publication that has been the only source of news coverage for the town of 9,000 for the past five years. But bills were piling up for the one-man operation, so Tran Longmoore announced on Aug. 5 that the newspaper was ceasing publication, Jack Nissen reports for Bridge Magazine.

Within 20 minutes, Longmoore said that messages and calls began flooding in from readers, all offering support and asking what they could do to keep the Post alive. Words weren't the only thing he got: the community started sending checks, too. "In 24 hours, Longmoore had enough money to keep publishing. Saline’s community newspaper had been saved by, of all things, the community itself," Nissen reports.

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At at time when more and more small papers are closing up shop, Nissen wonders if the key to saving them isn't from "industry focus groups and page-view algorithms, but from readers themselves." 

Longmoore said the readership metrics on his stories can be discouraging, but locals say his presence is important. "When he was close to going out of business, I suddenly thought, 'How else would we know what’s going at city council meetings or the school district?'" said Lori Hall, who donates money monthly to the newspaper.

"By covering all these meetings and the field hockey team and the school board, you’re showing the community you are standing by them," Longmoore told Nissen. "You’re not just there to make money off of clicks. You’re providing a community service."

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2yeqgPB Readers save a small-town Michigan newspaper - Entrepreneur Generations

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