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Monday, June 21, 2010

PG Diploma in applied Journalism

PG DIPLOMA IN Applied Journalism and Media CommunicationThe 9.9 School of Convergence in partnership with Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication has developed a unique one-year programme for postgraduates interested in a media career, which combines coursework on journalism and the media with a professional media internship.


Key features:
•One year industry-integrated progamme combines classes and on-the-job training
•Focus on core skills (writing, thinking, creating) applicable to print, TV and online
•Allows you to build a professional portfolio while you complete your diploma
•Internationally-designed curriculum based on the best practices of
industry & the academy
Develop the skills and knowledge needed to be a leader in the media industry
The one-year programme begins with an intensive three-month session of foundational classes that prepare students for their future careers in the media. These classes, taught by international media professionals and academics, help students quickly develop the essential skills that media practitioners require. They also introduce the fundamental concepts needed to understand the media industry, its history, and its future. Out-of-class assignments and weekly excursions in and around Delhi supplement these studies.

Build a professional portfolio while you complete your diploma
Upon completion of the three-month term, students start interning with a media company, where they gain on-the-job professional training five days a week while they continue their formal education in classes held every Saturday. For the remaining three-month session of the programme, students can test out and apply the ideas and skills that they have learned in class to real-life situations, and at the same time, reflect upon their professional experiences with teachers, mentors and one another in the classroom.

By integrating the experiential learning that students receive in the internship with intensive coursework, this distinctive programme gives students the competitive edge they need in an era defined by rapidly changing information and communication technologies.

9.9 SoC has a network of established connections in diverse
fields of the media and entertainment industry:

• Magazine publishing
• Print journalism
• Television journalism
• Print journalism
• Documentary production
• Television and film management
• Advertising
• Marketing
• Development communication

http://www.schoolofconvergence.com/applied-journalism/index.html

Sunday, June 20, 2010

How to Start Your Own Newspaper with only your home PC and little or no startup cash

How to Start Your Own Newspaper with only your home PC and little or no startup cash
Member

Once upon a time, it took loads of heavy, expensive equipment to publish newspapers. Now it's as easy as can be, utlizing your own PC and the printing services offered at most large daily newspapers. You can create your own weekly community newspaper OR specialty newspaper and boost your income while working from home. I DID IT!
.Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions.Things You'll Need:
•A Good Home PC and lots of drive.
•Average typing ability.
Step 1
Look at your community. What type of newspaper is needed? Is there a region, or a community that doesn't get great coverage in the local papers? Is there a growing tourist industry and the need for a specialty paper to target that area? There are tons of possibilities. Do some research. A good community paper that sticks to one area and group of people can become extremely well accepted.

Step 2
Using your computer and printer, create a dummy page/pages to be used to go out and pitch your new product to potential advertisers. You will need this advertising base (including some pre-sold ads) to fund your first print job. Go to businesses and sell advertising and even individuals who may want to utilize your classified ads. I will give resources at the end of the article which give you more detail on creating a dummy page and what program to use in your PC.

Step 3
Locate a local printer; usually it will be your local, large, daily newspaper. Ask them for a quote on your first issue. Have a general idea of how many pages. This is called WEB PRINTING (nothing to do with internet!) It is a type of printing which produces large, newspaper sized pages. You will also decide upon what size newspaper, whether tabloid or full size (broadsheet).

Step 4
Go out and find interesting people and places...write articles for your first issue. Feature stories about real life people and their hobbies or unique lives will always sell papers. Cover local sporting events, school functions, even put in kids birthday party news, etc. In the future, these 'homey' type papers will remain viable while larger national and international newspapers will continue to decline due to the internet. There is a certain respect that goes with being an editor of a newspaper, and you will find that doors will be open to you. People will come to you with stories they think should be written and local governmental decisions that need to be covered.

Step 5
Put together your first paper and have it printed. You will have to decide what type of delivery you're going to have, such as mail subscriptions and/or sales racks. Home delivery is still an option also. There are many other things to learn, which I direct you to under "resources" at the bottom of this page. But suffice it to say that you can do it! You don't have to have a degree in journalism, just a love of creating and writing. You can utilize friends and family to help sell advertising and you don't have to quit your job...at least in the beginning. It depends on how large you want to grow your paper.

Step 6
There are many benefits and much reward to this career. I have simplified the steps in order to stress that you can do it without start-up money if you already have a good computer and printer. Please see the resource at the bottom of this page to get started on the most exciting project of your life!
.

Read more: How to Start Your Own Newspaper with only your home PC and little or no startup cash | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4782240_home-pc-little-startup-cash.html#ixzz0rQKUWLoO

How to Print

Newspaper Printing
Contributor
By Renae De Leon, eHow Contributing Writer
Article Rating: (2 Ratings)
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Newspaper printing can be done for fun or for business. To print your own newspaper you will need to get the right supplies for the project, think of a theme to focus the information in your newspaper on and you will need to determine what demographic will be reading your newspaper. If you are looking for a small business idea, or if you want to expand your current writing business, then consider adding newspaper printing to the mix.
.Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions.Things You'll Need:
•Newspaper (blank) Ink Design software Proofing paper Developing chemicals Photograph plates Computer-to-plate chemicals Computer-to-plate plates Computer-to-plate software
Step 1
Determine if you want to use a traditional printing press to print your newspaper or if you will use desktop publishing tools. This step will determine what supplies you will need to buy and what design and printing techniques you will use.

Step 2
If you will be using a traditional printing press publishing technique, you will need ink, dampening covers, blankets, shop tools and sponges, press-packing sheets and gauges, chemicals and cleaners for your equipment, antimarking nets, separators, sucker feet, ink knives, carpet sheets, spray adhesives, graphic art pens, layout sheets and blank newspaper rolls. If you will be using desktop publishing tools, you will need an inkjet printer, ink, paper and graphic design software.

Step 3
Write stories that reflect the focus of your paper. For example, if the focus is sports, then you will want to relate each of your stories to sports. You can write stories on local events, professional sports or advancements in sports technology. This is also the time when you will want to collect graphics to accompany your stories. If you will be using a printing press, you will need to create a photograph plate using a computer-to-plate system. With desktop publishing tools, you will want to scan your photographs or upload them to your computer.

Step 4
Desktop publishing software can be used to lay out both traditional printing-press-style newspapers and desktop publishing versions. When using this software, you will set up the basic components of your newspaper and then drag and drop stories and photographs where you want them. The second option is to use layout sheets. You will need to print out your stories and photographs, cut them out and paste them on the layout sheets in the formations you want. You will then use this layout sheet to set your type and arrange your photograph plates.

Step 5
Print your newspaper. For desktop publishing newspapers all you have to do is finalize your design and print your paper out. The printing-press technique is going to be much more complicated. First, you will use computer-to-plate software and printing supplies to create printing plates for your press. You will then insert these plates into your printing press, roll on the ink, position a test sheet under the plate and run through one cycle. If the lettering on the test sheets is crisp and readable, and the color balance is right, then you can insert your newspaper roll and print
.

Read more: Newspaper Printing | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4578515_newspaper-printing.html#ixzz0rQJu0bTK

How to start a community newspaper

How To
How to Start a Community Newspaper

Contributor
By an eHow Contributing Writer
Article Rating: (5 Ratings)
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Despite hundreds of Internet news sites and several 24-hour cable television news stations, National Public Radio (NPR) reports more than 20 million American still get a significant amount of news from small, community newspapers. While a person doesn't need a journalism degree to become a publisher, a passion for news and people are necessary for someone wanting to start a community newspaper. Read on to learn how to start a community newspaper.
.Difficulty: Challenging
Instructions.Step 1
Perform extensive market research. Find out about your potential readers and advertisers, your competition and the type of material they're producing. While news is news, how it's packaged can vary depending on a publication's audience. Besides that, the real flavor of a newspaper isn't just the news.

Step 2
Decide if you will publish online, offline or both. If offline, think about the format and distribution method of your paper. Will you use a tabloid layout or a journal sized paper and who will do the layout? If you're interested in doing an online newspaper, some basic html know-how and a software program providing you with the ability to size photographs will get you started.

Step 3
Put your financial ducks in a row. You'll need a solid business plan and accounting structure if you're going to start selling ads and paying staff members. It's always smart to hire a professional to handle your bookkeeping, payroll and taxes.

Step 4
Develop news and article sources by meeting with area businesses, government bodies, law enforcement agencies, schools, community leaders, volunteer organizations, non profit groups, youth groups, civic clubs and anyone else you know. Not only will you want to introduce yourself and your newspaper, you'll want to accumulate some photos and stories to get your first issue off to a great start.

Step 5
Learn how to price and sell advertising. This is probably the most crucial element of your endeavor. No matter how pleasant your layout, how well written your articles or how outstanding your photographs, advertising dollars will pay the bills and keep you in print or online.

Step 6
Count on putting the community first in the content of your community newspaper. Stories and photos about pets, fishing and hunting results, school news, sports teams, recipes from local cooks, gardening tips, church news, club news, wedding, engagement and birth announcements and a calendar of local events and meetings should take up most of your pages, with a few pertinent news stories getting first page placement.

Step 7
Think about how you can distribute your newspaper at the lowest cost possible. You could mail them to every household in your area or you could set up distribution points throughout your town.
.

Read more: How to Start a Community Newspaper | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2120013_start-community-newspaper.html#ixzz0rQJMr9Fx

How to start a community newspaper

How To
How to Start a Community Newspaper

Contributor
By an eHow Contributing Writer
Article Rating: (5 Ratings)
Email Facebook Twitter StumbleUpon
Add to Favorites Print Share.I want to do this! What's This? ..
Despite hundreds of Internet news sites and several 24-hour cable television news stations, National Public Radio (NPR) reports more than 20 million American still get a significant amount of news from small, community newspapers. While a person doesn't need a journalism degree to become a publisher, a passion for news and people are necessary for someone wanting to start a community newspaper. Read on to learn how to start a community newspaper.
.Difficulty: Challenging
Instructions.Step 1
Perform extensive market research. Find out about your potential readers and advertisers, your competition and the type of material they're producing. While news is news, how it's packaged can vary depending on a publication's audience. Besides that, the real flavor of a newspaper isn't just the news.

Step 2
Decide if you will publish online, offline or both. If offline, think about the format and distribution method of your paper. Will you use a tabloid layout or a journal sized paper and who will do the layout? If you're interested in doing an online newspaper, some basic html know-how and a software program providing you with the ability to size photographs will get you started.

Step 3
Put your financial ducks in a row. You'll need a solid business plan and accounting structure if you're going to start selling ads and paying staff members. It's always smart to hire a professional to handle your bookkeeping, payroll and taxes.

Step 4
Develop news and article sources by meeting with area businesses, government bodies, law enforcement agencies, schools, community leaders, volunteer organizations, non profit groups, youth groups, civic clubs and anyone else you know. Not only will you want to introduce yourself and your newspaper, you'll want to accumulate some photos and stories to get your first issue off to a great start.

Step 5
Learn how to price and sell advertising. This is probably the most crucial element of your endeavor. No matter how pleasant your layout, how well written your articles or how outstanding your photographs, advertising dollars will pay the bills and keep you in print or online.

Step 6
Count on putting the community first in the content of your community newspaper. Stories and photos about pets, fishing and hunting results, school news, sports teams, recipes from local cooks, gardening tips, church news, club news, wedding, engagement and birth announcements and a calendar of local events and meetings should take up most of your pages, with a few pertinent news stories getting first page placement.

Step 7
Think about how you can distribute your newspaper at the lowest cost possible. You could mail them to every household in your area or you could set up distribution points throughout your town.
.

Read more: How to Start a Community Newspaper | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2120013_start-community-newspaper.html#ixzz0rQJMr9Fx

How to setup a local newspapers

How to Publish a Small Newspaper

Contributor
By an eHow Contributing Writer
Article Rating: (14 Ratings)
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Times have changed since the days when copying machines were prohibitive and there were few ways to mass-produce a written work. Now, with the help of computers and the Internet, anyone with the drive can publish her own small, independent newspaper for the local community. Read on to learn how to publish a small newspaper.
.Difficulty: Moderately ChallengingInstructions.Step
1Decide what kind of newspaper you want to produce. Will you cover local sports? Will you be reporting on human interest stories, political events or police investigations? Ask youself, "What news do the people in my community need that they may not be getting?"

Step
2Determine what your resources are for gathering the news. Will you work alone? If so, allot time for all your traveling, interviewing and picture-taking. If you have friends who are part of the venture, determine who will cover which "beats."

Step
3Figure out how frequently you want to publish your small newspaper. Will it be a weekly or a monthly? Can you find enough news to make it a daily? Once that is established, you can tell your reporters how often they should get their stories to you.

Step
4Choose a method of production. If you use a word-processing program on computer, you can easily input, edit and refine your stories before you print them. Be sure to get spelling, punctuation and formatting correct before you print any pages.

Step
5Copy your small newspaper through the most economical means available to you. Invest in your own small copier if you can. If not, use any of the major chains whose business it is to prepare good-looking, quality copies in any number that you choose. Calculate the cost of your newspaper by deciding how many copies you plan to sell. Make sure that you earn a profit, so that you can continue issue to issue.

Step
6Find outlets for your newspaper. Many local businesses would welcome your small newspaper in their places of business, provided that they either get some advertising out of it, or you pay them a small commission for the privilege of placing your papers there. Negotiate well with a happy attitude, knowing that you are providing a community service.

Step
7Go yourself one better by posting your newspaper online. Using any of the various web page-creating software packages out there, you can post your news items online and reach a wider audience. If you don't want to cut into your own circulation, you can post a "teaser" version of the paper online, and tell visitors to the site how to buy or subscribe to your paper.
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Tips & Warnings
Take journalism or basic writing courses at a local college or adult education institution. Good writing takes time and patience, and your readers will appreciate your crisp, clear use of words..Get as many people from the community "on your side" as you can. These people will become steady sources of stories as the weeks and months go on, which will help your newspaper grow in scope and circulation..Calculate your price well, so that you don't go broke with your first few issues..Don't try to cover the news that other papers are already covering, unless you can provide a fresh, unique, or otherwise local angle on the story..Resources
•Good Break-Down of Many Aspects of Publishing a Small Newspaper
•Internet-Based Solution for Publishers of Small Online Newspapers and Magazines

http://www.ehow.com/how_2067441_publish-small-newspaper.html

Friday, June 11, 2010

How To Run A Newspaper

Publishing 101: How to Start and Run a Magazine or Newspaper

Contents
1 Starting Out
2 Equipment and supplies you’ll need
2.1 Hardware
2.2 Software
2.3 Telecommunications
2.4 Location
2.5 Finances
3 Finding a team
4 Developing your prototype
5 Printing
6 Advertising
7 Fundraising and Grantwriting
8 Distribution and Subscriptions
9 The bottom line
10 See also
11 Resources
11.1 Local and national media networks and events
11.2 Street boxes and Newsracks
11.3 Web hosting and Web site building sites
11.4 Open source and free software

Starting Out
Publishing has never been easier than it is today. The advent of desktop computing has transformed the process of newspaper production from the reserve of the very affluent to something that it is possible to get into even without an office. Modern desktop publishing (DTP) software and computers that can handle the jobs are available at a low cost (relative to the pre-digital era) and, because of the versatility of communicating through the Internet, you can have an entire editorial/production office that exists only online.

Equipment and supplies you’ll need
(Assuming you’ll be creating a publication with a print run of over 1,000, as opposed to a small photocopied zine)

Hardware
A good computer with a lot of memory. A good computer, with at least twice the minimum amount of RAM installed, is preferable if you're going to try to do everything on one computer. As one person wrote, "It is worth spending as much as you can on your computer." Another absolute in today's society is having a processor that is fast. In fact, as with any computing needs, the faster the better, but a processor that's at least 1.5Ghz should be considered an essential, dual or quad core is even better!.

Apple (aka Macintosh) computers are what many printing companies and professional freelance designers use. That's a throwback to the early 90s, when DTP was in its infancy and using an Apple with PageMaker or QuarkXPress was the only option. The software, as well as overall PC platform, at that time, wasn't really up-to-par for heavy-duty use for typesetting. Today, though, Mac-based shops are popping up all over, a good starter computer is the iMac series computers.

If you are looking to produce a newspaper of any size with a team, you will want more than one machine. Page layout takes time, so the more availability you have the better, but this has to be balanced with cost, as well as warm bodies that will be using the machines.

A Flash drive, or DVD writer, and a External Hard Drive for long term backups. This is one important way, aside from FTP software, that you’ll move your digital documents around. They are also good for backing up your data. A DVD writer should be less than $50. Flash drives are even cheaper. As of Sept 2008, for USD$155, you can get a 1 Terabyte internal hard drive, so relatively speaking, that's cheap, especially when you look at prices from even three years ago.

A good printer. Laser is best and can be had for little money, new for less than $100 but look into spending around $400 for good one with network support built in. Laser also eats up a lot less ink than inkjets. It’s more pricey up front, but cheaper over the long haul, and they last longer.

A good digital camera. Film is not cheap. We recommend the Canon or Nikon point-and-shoot series. They’re fast, reliable and less than $400 new. When shopping around, find a digital camera with at least six megapixels, but eight or ten would be better, if possible. However, megapixel by itself is not a guarantee of quality, because other factors, such as lens quality, focal length and lag time, must be taken into account in comparing cameras.

Software
Desk Top Publishing Software. Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign (formerly Adobe Pagemaker). You may also want to look at Adobe Photoshop for tricking out your pictures. This can cost a lot, sometimes over $1,000 for each program when you buy the latest version. If you're just starting out on a shoestring budget, check up on eBay for older versions, as you can pick those up a lot cheaper. None of the programs are really difficult to use, and there are tutorials available on many Web sites. Also, do a search for email discussion groups and Usenet newsgroups focused on the specific piece of software, as well as your area of interest, such as "launching newspapers" or "launching magazines" -- there are newsgroups and discussion lists for everything!

For many things today, and to be able to find a printer that can accept your files without reformatting everything, you will want to get copies of nothing earlier than QuarkXPress version 3.3 or better or PageMaker 5. Be sure to check with the printer that will be publishing the final product to find out if their software -- likely within one version of being current with the newest release of the software package -- can open or import your files without issue.

As far as photo tools, look for at least Adobe Photoshop CS or newer. Other solid photo manipulation tools are Gimp and SnagIt, although they aren't as fully developed as Adobe Photoshop.

While there are other desktop publishing programs available, they generally aren't supported by actual printing businesses. If you must use a tool other than QuarkXPress or PageMaker, a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) package, Scribus, is good. It isn't a feature-rich as either QuarkXPress or PageMaker, but it can help you come up with an end product. Scribus can natively print to portable document format (PDF), but sometimes the actual PDF doesn't work well for some printing companies. Be sure to run a test to ensure the actual final product will work for you, meaning that it will do everything you need and want, but also that the company printing your publication can open the final file to print your newspaper.

Website Software. If you're going to have a Web site for your newspaper, check out Adobe Dreamweaver (formerly Macromedia Dreamweaver), Adobe Pagemill, Microsoft Frontpage are good WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors for designing a Web site.

While we’re on site creation, make yours a dynamic site that uses PHP or .Net if possible. This software, available for free online, allows you to update your site as easily as sending an email from any computer. Instead of PHP, you could also consider using SSI (server-side includes) if your site is hosted on a Unix server. Using SSI is relativey simple. All you do is create and upload one file with the HTML coding, reference the file name from a static page, and everything changes. Be sure to research server side includes to get a full understanding.

Other options for simple and easy-to-create and easy-to-maintain sites are to use a blog-based tool, such as WordPress for a self-hosted site, or EzyMedia and WordPress.com for hosted sites, meaning the site's files and primary headaches will be handled -- for free -- by your hosts. The disadvantage to using the hosted package with WordPress is that you cannot entirely customize the theme. You can modify the themes offered in the package, but beyond that, you don't have the option of uploading additional files to change the theme. The self-hosted option can serve you better for a personalized site. TypePad is another blog-based tool that many sites use as a mini-CMS (content management system) to mainain the site.

If you're experimental, geeky, and can understand technical stuff fairly quickly, check out full-fledged CMS tools, such as EzyMedia, Drupal, Joomla, or other CMS packages. Many are FOSS packages for the download. Setting up most CMS packages is relatively painless once the files are uploaded to the server. Maintaining sites through blog-based and CMS-based platforms are easy, as you use a simple WYSIWYG editor interface to enter the stories (use a simple copy-and-paste approach), add a headline, a title (or "slug") -- which then becomes the URL, click SAVE, and you're done.

Telecommunications
High-speed Internet. Yeah, it’s $40 a month, but it’s also indispensable for maintaining your sanity. You can also share WiFi with a neighbor, but be certain to read the Terms of Service for the plan's stipulations about sharing a connection.

A phone number and business cards. Voicemail is only about $10 a month and you can get 1,000 business cards from Staples for about $20. It sure beats writing your name on scrap paper, trust me. If you have a cell phone with unlimited use, or one with cheap rates, you could also consider using NetZero Voice (aka PrivatePhone.com), which offers free voicemail, a free voicemail number, and 10 free 10-minute "return" calls that display "your" phone number and business name (as you entered it when you create the account) per month. You can receive up to 10,000 calls per month for free. If you don't mind using a cell phone or other means to return calls -- even email, which many companies do these days -- this could be a possible alternative.

NOTE: On a check up of the PrivatePhone service on 12/14/07, it has been indicated that PrivatePhone will be discontinuing their service on 12/31/07. They recommend searching the internet for "Free Phone and Voicemail Service" to find other comparable services.

Web Hosting. You can register a .com or .org. for as little as $8. You can get good, reliable hosting for $15 to $35 a month for a basic site. Many Web hosts have packages with 200 gigs or more of space, with 2,000 email accounts, unlimited email aliases, and other features, for $19USD per month. Packages with less space can be had for $4USD to $14USD per month.


PRIVATEPHONE SERVICE ENDED ON FEBRUARY 19, 2008 **
Location
If running your project out of your home isn’t an option, inexpensive space is available in local artist spaces, from progressive community groups.

Finances
A business checking account. Small business checking accounts are free at many local banks. The banks may tell you they require an IRS-issued EIN (Employer ID number, similar to a Social Security Number for businesses), but if you explain you do not expect to receive over $9,000 this year in income and that the IRS doesn't require an EIN until you reach that threshold, they generally use just the principle owner's Social Security Number in the U.S. Other countries may have other requirements, so check.

At the state and local level, you may be required to file documents with the Secretary of State and the county and/or city where you are located. Some cities and counties require business licenses, and if they do, it's generally cheaper to get the license than to get caught doing business and not having one. A call to a local business attorney can get you the general information, as well as a call to your local city hall.

An accountant. Although sometimes expensive, you can find accountants that will charge only $50 to $80 an hour for a consultation. This could help you tremendously in keeping your books, and it doesn't have to be an on-going alliance. Sit down, get the basics, find out what you need to learn, and check back as appropriate. Also ask for an ad! Be sure to at least read a book on the subject before you DIY.

Finding a team
Depending on the size and frequency of the newspaper you are starting, you will need to staff a number of different positions, from the publisher's chair on down. The smaller the paper, the smaller the number of employees you will need. At the bare minimum your paper will need a publisher, an editor, a sales manager, reporters, photographers, sales staff, copy editors/page designers, a production (graphics) team and someone to handle classified ads. Someone in accounts receivable is probably a necessity.

At smaller operations, such as a weekly or monthly publication, many of these roles may overlap and be filled by a single person. A reporter, for example, may take their own pictures. A sales manager might also be the salesperson; and the publisher may also be the editor.

There are several ways to staff your paper. There are a number of media-specific job websites that cater to both employers and employees. Many prospective employees and journalism school graduates keep a close eye on these sites as they seek out employment opportunities. Placing employment ads online and in other publications is also a good way to let people know you are hiring. It also can't hurt to contact journalism schools directly and let them know you are hiring. Whichever method you choose, be sure to be specific in the qualifications you are looking for in a potential employee. The idea of working in the media is appealing, and many applicants think no specialized training is required.

Who’s doing what? You’ll need to determine if you’re going to function as a democratic collective, a top-down construct or some other organization system. Some papers operate as a democratically driven hierarchy. They ask the entire team to give consent to what we do. The democracy is integral to the mission of the magazine. Editorial decisions, design questions and ethical considerations receive round-table speculation by everyone involved in the project. Complete consensus is not necessarily the goal; in fact; Encourage debate. No matter what the outcome, consider staff input crucial to the operation. It takes a little longer to consult staff members, but you’ll find it’s worth it.

Communication Communicating with a staff of 12 can be more difficult than reaching 12,000 readers. Use an Internet message board to keep in contact with your team and make sure everyone is on the same page…or Web page. We use topica.com to network our team. It’s a free service. This is a listserv, which functions as an email broadcast system. Send a message and it goes out to the whole team. If Joe Smith replies, his reply goes out to everyone, like on a party line. We also have monthly meetings where we meet in person and parties where we hang out.

[edit] Developing your prototype
Start with a statement of purpose. Our first directive was to democratize media by sharing the tools of journalism with the general public. Let your statement become your guiding light, your prime directive. You will never have more time to debug your magazine or newspaper than right now. Take your time and develop a working model with actual stories and photos (stuff that’s not time sensitive so you can actually use it in your first issue). Look at magazines you like and determine what stylistic aspects you’d like in your own. Develop a consistent page size (determined by printing press specifications) and margins, font, font size, standard leading and spacing, headline standards, number of columns and logos. Then again, maybe your zine’s just too avante garde for that stuff to matter. That’s okay too, the rules are yours to rewrite. Figure out how often your publication will come out and what size and format you want.

Printing
There are many printing options available. What you can achieve depends largely on your budget. When you see something you like, call the publisher and find out where they print. The cheapest game on the block is web press on newsprint. You can get a 1,000 copies of an 8-page tabloid size in black and white for about $500 per print run. Then again, 5,000 of this same rag might be only $1000. Basically, producing plates to print newspapers represents a significant part of the costs, as does getting the print run ready and doing the admin. The paper and ink is less expensive. The first 1,000 papers will usually be very expensive, but after 10,000 copies you'll be paying very little per 1,000 'run-on'.

Feel free to ask your printer questions on what they need and how they need it. Good printers should provide you with information on how best to produce pages to print well with them. Stick to the deadlines you negotiate with them. They can be among your best allies. Modern page layout software exports to the Adobe Acrobat format (PDF). Sending pages in this format is as close to 'what you see is what you get' printing as you can hope for. The format allows fonts to be embedded and avoids the newspaper coming back barely legible due to a substituted font face. Other methods include sending across EPS pages and our fonts on disk - if a font is missing the story that uses that font will degrade into another font (often Courier). That screws up all the spacing and layout and could cause you to lose the end of a story. Take your first issue in early, be prepared to head back to your office, fix the problems and return. It is very common for printers to accept files by internet (FTP) transfer.

Advertising
Finding sales people willing to work on commission only can be a very difficult process. You may well have to do this yourself. Only the most dedicated staff can and will do it well.

Determine the cost of the ads by looking at your local competition and peers. Your magazine or paper is published in regular cycles; monthly, weekly, etc. Your operating expenses (paying contractors, paying rent and other regular expenses) come in cycles as well.

The following formula works well: (Total printing cost divided by total number of pages) = Cost per page. Simple. Now you know what that paper real estate costs you.

In the planning stages for each issue, you look at many things in determining the number of pages. Some publications use a ratio of 50 percent advertising to 50 percent content, while others use a 60/40 ad-to-content ratio, and still others use a 70/30 ad-to-content ratio. While each publication determines its own ratio, the closer to a 50/50 balance you maintain, the better your publication will be viewed by your readers. The reason: it will seem like they have actual content to read -- not just ads to pass by in a vain attempt to find your content.

Fundraising and Grantwriting
Distribution and Subscriptions
The way you choose to get your magazine into people’s hands will be an important determining factor of how you’ll be spending your time on your publishing project. You can basically create a free distribution model or a pay-at-the-newsstand/subscription/street hawker model. Both have their benefits and drawbacks. There are companies that handle either sort of job, but it’s a lot cheaper to do it yourself. Most business owners are glad to have new papers in their shops. Most importantly, maintain a stable fulfillment plan. Do what you say you’ll do and deliver the magazine or paper on time.

In delivering on-time, be sure to not over-commit yourself to a specific number of pages for any specific issue.

The bottom line
In the end, consistency, integrity and respect will get you farther than anything else and dogged persistence will help you go beyond yourself and allow you to realize your vision. Remember one thing, if you are the owner of a newspaper, you have power. Power has it's advantages and dis-advantages, it's up to you how you use this power. For example, the media mogul Rupert Murdoch is the owner of News Corp. the biggest newspaper company in the world, and guess what? He has dinner with the President of the United States, oops, I mean the President has dinner with him! Reflect on what was said and good luck.

See also
v:The Student Newspaper Survival Guide http://www.collegenewspaper.org/

v:School of Journalism http://www.nettetercume.com/

v:The Student Newspaper Survival Blog http://www.collegenewspaper.blogspot.com/

magazine production
zine making
Resources
Local and national media networks and events
The Underground Publishing Conference - in Bowling Green, OH. Find info at http://www.clamormagazine.org, see our story at http://www.goxray.com/media
The Independent Press Association - A good professional networking organization for progressive and alternative press. 385 members including The Nation, Mother Jones, Juxtapoz, San Francisco Bay Guardian and XRay. http://www.indypress.org
Used Newspaper printing Equipment

[edit] Street boxes and Newsracks
Amelia based Eger Products sells them for less than $70 a piece. Contact them at http://www.egerproducts.com. Their competitors are GoPlastics, http://www.goplastics.com out of Atlanta.
Indoor, metal newsracks are available new for about $20 from ____.
[edit] Web hosting and Web site building sites
Hundreds of sites on the Web provide the tools and resources for Web development. These are just a few starting points.

Webmonkey.com is an amazing resource for all levels of Web production and experience. http://www.webmonkey.com/
Learn the ins and outs of HTML at HTMLGoodies.com. http://www.htmlgoodies.com/
Decrain Web Solutions: http://www.decrain.com
1and1.com
Turnkey Newspaper & City Guide Web Publishing Solution in Your City[1]
NewsBowl.org offers FREE Web Site hosting to publishers of personal newspapers. http://newsbowl.org/
[edit] Open source and free software
Often times you can obtain quality software for free or nearly so. Be sure to check all your options before purchasing expensive software. On the flip side of the coin, be sure that the software you use can do what you want it to, or you may have to spend time converting your previous issues.

Scribus is an open-source page layout program that has commercial support available to purchase. It is available for Linux. It exports to PDF.
The GIMP is a GPL (GNU Public License) photo-editing program (similar to Photoshop) available on Linux, OS X and Windows.
Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics program for Windows, Linux and OS X.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_To_Run_A_Newspaper"
Subjects: Books to be expanded | How To Run A Newspaper | Operations management

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_To_Run_A_Newspaper

How to Start a Small Newspaper Business

How to Start a Small Newspaper Business
June 11, 2010 by admin
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I moved from Houston, Texas to western Montana in 1992. That was quite a culture shock for me. Houston has millions of people and who knows how many businesses, and many billions of dollars flowing through the local economy. Even in hard times, Houston always has some kind of work to offer. Montana, on the other hand, has few people, and not so many jobs.

I managed to get by for a couple of years, doing odd jobs and keeping my expenses very low. Then I decided to strike out on my own. I had no money saved up, and I had the usual monthly bills every else has to pay. So any business I might start would have to be “shoestring-friendly,” if you know what I mean. After doing some research, I decided to start a small newspaper to serve my area.

I checked out, as best I could, the rates being charged by the large daily newspaper that served our region. I looked into all the businesses in my own community and in the small communities nearby. There were quite a few very small businesses because the towns and local markets were very small, and the area sparsely populated. I got printing quotes from the printers within driving distance that could produce a tabloid-sized paper. I got prices and requirements from the local post office on nearby routes and boxes. I bought a bulk mailing permit number (now called Standard Rate mailing) and paid the fee for the first year of use.

In those days, digital cameras were only a dream. None of them took a picture worth keeping. So I went out and got a decent 35mm camera from a local pawn shop. Since my only vehicle was a Ford pickup, I went and got a nice, dry, cap for the bed. it was used, but in very good condition. I made sure it had a working lock and that the side windows would seal out the rain.

I knew I would need a light table, so I built one using a few flat boards and an inexpensive pane of glass. I placed a small fluorescent fixture inside for the light source. I learned how to use my little laser printer to print “tiled” 11×17 pages. I registered the name of my newspaper with the state as a new business. There were no special permits or license or bonds to apply for. I went and got some business cards that had the name of the paper. And I was basically set.

I already owned a tiny computer, the little laser printer, a scanner, and small tape recorder. I had a desk I could use as a work station in the corner of a bedroom. That became my office. I already owned an old version of CorelDraw that i could use to build ads. I also had the photo editing software that comes in the Corel package. And I had an outdated PageMaker version that would work just fine for building my pages on the computer.

These days, everything is so much easier. Digital cameras and photos save a lot of time and money that I used to spend on processing and scanning. (Then the printer would have to make halftone negatives, as well.) And the common use of Adobe PDF files among printers and designers means that paper mechanicals of the newspaper no longer need to be built. Just put everything on file and email it. No light tables, no pasting up, no last minute driving in all kinds of weather through mountain passes to the printer.

My routine from the very first week was simple. I would go out and sell ads to business people who wanted to reach potential customers in the area served by our paper. I would spend about half a week doing this, in between interviews, changing ads, building new ads, sports coverage (local games in high schools), and other news gathering. As the end of each week drew near, my wife and I would be typing away, producing articles. As we went along, I would begin to arrange the material on the pages, placing articles, ads, photos, comics, puzzles, and other items of interest.

Usually, we would have at least one all-night crunch time per week. And then we would make the 40-mile-plus trip over mountains and along the valleys to the printer. A few hours later, we would load our papers — that had been printed, folded and labeled — into the back of the truck and head for home. Along the way, we would stop and drop off small stacks of papers in stores that had agreed to give us space. Back in our own small town, we went to the post office, where I sacked up the papers, bundled per route, and paid the mailing fee for that week. We would then take copies to the rest of the area stores and businesses where readers could find them, and we were done.

Depending on the kind of area a paper serves, the routine may differ. Some papers travel by bus from the printer to the publisher or mailing service for final distribution. Some community papers are not mailed at all, except for distant subscribers. The publisher distributes papers door-to-door or pays a crew to handle that task. Some papers are almost entirely given out at local retail businesses, office entranceways, and so on.

Our paper was distributed free to the people of our area. We did eventually begin offering subscriptions to local readers, but I would not do that again. For a small paper, subscriptions complicate things and add costs. by keeping a business simple as possible, everyone is better served. But that is just my own opinion, based on my own way of doing business.

I have no college degree, no special training in journalism, no previous experience as a news publisher. I began with an idea and a desire to serve the area and its people. I believe anyone can do the same, and that many will be able to do better. In fact, many have done both.

I am retired from publishing now, and only build a few ads and special graphics for others on occasion. But I am still part of the newspaper adventure in America (both the U.S. and Canada). A few years ago I set up a website where I go into more detail about various aspects of starting and running a small paper. All the information on the site is free of charge. Every so often I get word from another successful publisher that started their own newspaper after using our site to help formulate a basic idea and business plan.


If this kind of publishing from home sounds like it might be what you are looking for, feel free to visit my site www.Newspaper-Info.com and learn more.
http://newjobslive.info/?p=15287

problems of small newspapers in India

Problems and Prospects of Small Newspapers

August 13, 2005 Press Club Kolkata
Organized by Indian Journalists Association


Justice G N Ray

Chairman,

Press Council of India





I thank the Indian Journalists Association for having given me this opportunity to be with a section of the press that represents the grass root and indeed the mass root of the Fourth Estate. I have noted that Indian Journalists Association established in 1922, is said to be the oldest body of newspapers in the country and I hope the Association will always stand tall in protecting and ensuring both the rights and responsibilities of it members.



Bengal has been the proud birthplace of the press in India. Chronicles record “Hicky’s Gazette” as the first newspaper to be published in the country from Calcutta in 1780. Though ‘Gazette’ is reported to have died an unceremonious death in 1782 weighed down by fines and seizure of its printing press under the then judicial system in India under Warren Hastings, the initiative awoke the people to the advantages of a newspaper and under Raja Rammohan Roy to whom goes the credit for ushering in the modern age of reason in India, the press was transformed into a weapon of social reform. He used Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali Weekly 1821) to propagate his new thoughts and ideas in social and religious reform. To the founder of Indian Language Journalism also goes the credit for the close affinity that the small press of today enjoys with the public to which it caters. Freedom struggle apart, the role that small and medium newspapers have played since 1947 is also commendable. The majority of Indian population today lives in rural areas. The need for flow of information to and from the rural area is even greater. The large and more well known papers are mostly published from large cities and towns, not fully aware of the needs and problems of the rural or small town public or of the local taste. Conversely, the small newspapers enjoy the potential to bridge this gap as though they are brought out by people with small means, it also translates into small overhead costs. They speak the language of the locals and are thus capable of influencing their opinion. They also have the potential to serve as a conduit between the public and the local authorities by bringing to the notice of the authorities, the sufferings, difficulties and the needs of the people, simultaneously carrying to the people the type of information they need from the authorities. Therefore I firmly believe that small papers are the best vehicle for promoting unity and communal harmony among the people and thereby strengthening the roots of democracy and the process of development.



Small newspapers are often criticized for ignoring ethical values, for using the paper as a tool for settling personal scores or for blackmailing. It is never correct to generalize. There are of course always some black sheep and ‘fly by night’ newspapers but that is no reason to loose sight of the very important vacuum being filled by the small papers in the information communication chain. The Council believes that there is indeed a need to protect and promote the genuine small and medium newspapers in keeping with the country’s commitment to establish a socialist society and to encourage plurality of opinion and sources of information to strengthen democracy.



About a decade ago, the Council had conducted an in- depth study into the problems of small and medium newspapers and came out with as many as 22 specific recommendations to encourage the small papers to play their role efficiently and to ameliorate their conditions. Highlights of these recommendations were additional advertisement support to these papers by the government; cheaper newsprint; machinery and equipment at concessional rates; transparency in advertisement empanelment and release, quick clearance of advertisement bills by the DAVP and other advertising authorities, making separate arrangements for input of information, news materials and visuals through Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Government of India. To this, I would add offering them subscription support and organizing workshops to nurture local journalistic talent.

However, the most important recommendation of the Council was that, and I quote, "A small and Medium Newspaper Development Corporation (or a small and Medium Newspaper Advisory Committee) should be set up as an autonomous body sufficiently representative of all medium and small newspapers with a view to promote and ensure the development of small and medium newspapers. It may have its branches at appropriate places. It may start with sufficient fund to be provided by the Government. It should keep the small and medium newspapers right from the stage of filing of declaration and act as a forwarding agency for applications for telephone facilities, to procure land on concessional rates, to procure, newsprint and to storage and distribute it to recommend postal facilities, telecommunication facilities, travel concessions to journalists etc." In the alternative, the small and medium newspapers be encouraged to form a co-operative society for the above purpose.



Furthering the above views, the Council in its Report on the ‘Future of Print Media (2001), recommended that “Co-operatives of small newspapers in particular, may be encouraged to run cost effective modern printing presses, internet connections and organize workshops for journalists and printers for improving the overall quality of small newspapers”. It also recommended that “genuine small newspapers may be helped with subsidized newsprint. The possibility of increasing indigenous production of newsprint by using alternative raw materials (“kenaff”, even city waste, etc.) should also be explored.” “It also needs to be studied as to what should be the role of the small newspaper in a multi-regional and multi-language country of over one billion, and to look for ways and means to improve the quality of small newspapers.”



It is learnt that in Delhi some associations representing small newspapers have urged the government to provide relief to the small newspapers from the burden of VAT and for a single window clearance system in the Information Department to cater to all their needs.



The small press has faced a new threat over the past 3-4 years with the big newspaper launching regional supplements to the main paper. These, no doubt, affect the circulation of the local paper but they are not, at least not yet, able to compete with the local newspapers in coverage of local news. The local press enjoys this edge since it has its finger on the pulse of the local population, is aware of the comparative importance of local personalities and events and is more attuned to local tastes and dislikes. It enjoys a further advantageous position in terms of advertisement potential at local/district level of limited services and products.



It is however, undeniable that the small press enjoys a severe handicap in the form of technological advancements and non-availability of the best of personnel due to financial constraints. It also cannot match the big papers in the price war.



These are the disadvantages, which can be overcome only by offering quality service by becoming the voice of the local population.



The country’s population today has crossed one billion; out of them, almost 70% live in rural areas. The literacy rate, which was around 17% at the dawn of independence, stood as 66% as per census of 2001 and would have further improved since. In absolute number, people are gradually rising above the poverty line and with passage of time, more literate and educated people and economic growth are reasonably expected. This change and progress will improve capacity to purchase and read. Literacy and consequential growth of potential readers backed by economic growth will obviously help small press. The small newspapers must realise the change taking fast in the society and should come forward as catalyst of change of social economic as well as political situation and extend constructive co-operation in the development of the country and rooting out the malaise of corruption, moral degradation. Remember, only an independent and responsible media committed to the democratic process will ultimately contribute to the nation building.



So, I would urge you to develop enterprising spirit, correctly plan for growth without depending entirely on government support. It is absolutely unnecessary for the small newspapers, to enter into a circulation race with the big newspapers. With its inherent quality and sensitivity to local sentiments and problems and outlook the small newspapers can co-exist without any threat from big newspapers and thrive independently. Be the voice of the people and tread the Path, alone, if need be, of healthy and vibrant journalism and you will emerge the winner.



I conclude with the words of Rabindranath Tagore: -



“JODI TOR DAK SUNE KEU NA AASHE

TOBE EKLA CHALO RE.”

http://presscouncil.nic.in/speech4.htm

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

localnewspaper.blogspot.com

local newspaper. daily local newspaper
a national newspaper fort wayne local newspaper

local newspaper
Make the Most of Each Local Newspaper
The Newspaper Association of America reports that there are more than 54 million newspapers sold daily. It's true that a newspaper is something to be sought after one minute and the stuff you wrap your breakables in the next. Each edition does have a very short shelf life. However, each edition is also filled with up-to-the-minute resources that you can make the most of, providing you do that within their limited time period.

Because newspapers are arranged in categories, many people go to the sections they have an interest in or are used to reading and then ignore the rest of the paper. By doing this however, readers are missing out on a lot of possibly useful and relevant information, announcements and deals.

MOVING
For instance, if you rent an apartment or house and know you'll be moving at some point in the near future, checking out the houses and apartments in the classified section regularly that are for rent could alert you to rental prices for areas you might want to relocate to and offer you phone numbers of landlords or rental persons you might want to contact.

LEARNING
If you would like to take another course but are not sure which would be best for your job ensurability, then if read through the want ads regularly you'll notice what employers are listing as recommended qualifications. If a specific computer or business skill appears often, then a course teaching it would be a good one to sign up for.

SUPPORT
People who are going through tough times could use prayers said on their behalf. Newspapers provide stories and names of persons who could use some lifting up in prayer by you and those in the congregation of the church you attend.

ADVISING
If people are often asking for your advice about one personal situation or another that they find themselves in the midst of and you're never quite sure what to say to them, read the advice columns and see how the "experts" answer. Their answers might give you inspiration for expressing your own ideas.

HELPING AND SAVING
Some yard and garage sales benefit local causes. If you keep alert for their postings, you'll not only be helping a local group, you'll more than likely find some very nice items priced very inexpensively.

A NEW DIRECTION
There are listings of support groups meetings updated and announced in newspapers. If you know someone who really would benefit from one of them, tell them about it, suggest they see what it's like and volunteer to go with them the first time.

INCENTIVE
Local events are often mentioned ahead of time. If there is one you want to participate in, by knowing about it in advance, you have the opportunity to contact the sponsor, sign up if it's necessary and prepare for it. You can also use the advance notice of events you would like to attend as incentive to accomplish short-term goals or complete tasks you keep putting off. Make a deal with yourself (one that you intend to follow through with) that if you accomplish the goal or complete the task in time you can go to the event. If not, then you can't. Great incentive to keep busy with plans and tasks.

EXPRESSING
Letters to the editor are usually interesting. This section is the "voice" of your town or city and you can learn more than you might realize about it by reading the opinions printed there. Write a few of you know so others can know your opinions as well.

ASSORTMENT
Occasionally, businesses will offer discounts that you can only take advantage of by presenting them with the coupon that was in the newspaper. Banks advertise special rates in the local papers. Public service announcements are made, such as "there will be no trash pick up on Monday" or "Main and Elm Streets will be closed to traffic Thursday due to construction". You'll also be informed of utility rate increases so you don't faint the next time you open the envelope with your bill in it.

Local newspapers have a lot to offer if you make the most of them.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Livelihood through local newspapers

Earn a Living And Provide an Important Service for Your Area

Weekly and monthly publications exist in many small towns, subdivision communities and other "local" regions. Every large city has many such publications. Many small towns have at least one. Then there are the county-wide papers, the business papers, the special "trading posts" and advertiser papers.

Some small papers target homeowners while others are aimed at apartment dwellers. Some are intended as business-to-business news and advertisements, while some are strictly neighborhood announcements and gossip. The most successful know their market and don't try to accomplish more than they can do well.

But I Really HATE Newspapers

Join the crowd. Newspaper subscriptions have been declining for decades. That's why many cities that once enjoyed two or more strong daily newspapers have only one today. And many dailies that once offered more than one edition a day now only produce one.

If you find run-of-the-mill newspapers boring then you may be better suited to starting and running a successful local paper. You won't be as tempted to make it boring. You'll be more likely to strive to fill it with information that actually means something to your readers.


Facing the Facts

Ok, let's face a few facts. In the previous and following pages, I tell you how it's possible to start and operate your own local newspaper. I do my best to give you good reasons to seriously consider throwing yourself into such an adventure. I give you advice and ideas, examples and facts. I draw your attention to useful books and other publications, so that you can improve areas of understanding and skill. I point you to other online resources, many of which are free.

But let's face it, the newspaper business is not for everyone. In fact business itself is not for everyone. Writing is not for everyone. Publishing is not for everyone. And news gathering, page layout, photography, personal interviewing, and ad sales are not for everyone.

Owning and operating a local paper is hard work. It requires some long days, and sleepless nights. It requires hard work (did I already mention that?). And long days. I personally have put in some 40 and 50 hour days, when circumstances shoved me up against deadlines. But I never put a paper out late. I always made the deadline — even when it meant driving up mountain passes packed with snow and ice in the dead of winter to get to press on time.





Hard Work Should Be Fun

Can Cottage Industry Save the American Economy?

The American economy and society as a whole just may be saved by a large-scale and wholehearted return to cottage industry. The very conditions that are killing off giant corporations and large-scale manufacturing may be opening the door to profitable home-based careers and family-run businesses — to an extent not seen in this country for nearly a century. more...


Life should be fun. I fully believe that. And work should be meaningful, satisfying, and challenging. No one should work all week, every week, just to make ends meet. Work to make a difference. Work to accomplish things you really believe in. Work to make sure the little guy gets his day in the sun. And work to encourage your community in the right directions.

For me, everything about doing a paper is fun. Reporting, picture-taking, selling ads, interviews, covering high school sports — everything. I even enjoyed telling big city lawyers that they had no authority over the local free press. I told them to either sue me or shut up. Thankfully, they shut up. (Whew!)

What If I'm Too Lazy?

Everyone has a lazy side. When life becomes really boring, many of us tend to get lazy about things that really matter. That's why we need to be challenged. We need to be climbing mountains that scare us to death. We need to be crossing rivers that no one can cross. We need to be pushing to win prizes that no one has ever won before. All of us need to be challenged, so that we can have a good reason to face each day. At least, that's how I see the world.

Maybe the newspaper business is not for you. If so, that doesn't mean that anything is wrong with you, or that anything is wrong with running a successful newspaper. Maybe your purpose in life is to discover a cure for some form of cancer, or to bring an end to global hunger, or to create a new toy that every child in the world can afford to own.

Whatever your dream is, whatever drives you forward, go for it with all your heart. Life is precious and wonderful. Life is to be lived. Life is to be loved, appreciated, and never wasted. No matter how many wrong turns you may have made (or think you've made), or how dark the days ahead may appear, just jump in with all your might, and give it all you've got and then some. Make every day and every hour count.

To be successful in starting and running a newspaper, you must be willing to work hard for something you care about. Do you care about people, about the environment, about justice and meaningful progress?

To be a great newspaper publisher you must be willing to sacrifice long hours and many days to help make your community a better place. Your paycheck won't always be very big — especially at first. But it'll keep growing if you're doing the right things. Even so, the real motivation must be to provide a means by which your community is allowed to speak clearly and openly to and for itself.



The Next Step

Still here? Great!

If you think that running a newspaper just might be your thing, then go on to the next step. If you can make it through all the pages that follow, you just might have what it takes.

quick-list of newspaper start-up steps

What Steps Do I Take to get Started?



So you've decided to start a weekly paper. Congratulations!

Here is a quick list of key start-up steps. You'll find more details on the other pages of this site.

Find a Reliable Web Press

If you are unfamiliar with the printing and publishing industries, then you should do a little research. For example, you need to know what a web press is, as opposed to sheet-fed presses. For example, most print shops in any town operate sheet-fed presses. Copy shops (such as Kinko's) often have no printing presses at all. They have electrostatic copiers, instead. A real printing press uses ink, not toner, to reproduce an image on paper. A web press is a very large (sometimes two or three stories high) printing press that prints from giant rolls of paper, instead of stacks of pre-cut sheets. Confused, yet?



Newspaper Info Bookshelf

Be sure to visit the Newspaper-Info Bookshelf for books and guides containing valuable newspaper and business information. Learn how to interview, write articles, sell ads, write ad copy, take photos, and keep the books straight. You can also discover detailed startup & operation information. Go Now.


Newspapers, including the tabloid-sized papers this website is all about, are printed on web presses, not on sheet-fed presses. Things didn't start out that way, but that's how they are today. It's all about economics. You'll typically pay less for 5,000 copies of a 20-page tabloid newspaper — run on a web press — than for the same quantity of a 12-page newsletter (with only an 8-1/2x11 page-size) run on a sheet-fed press. Read that last sentence a few times, and make sure you grasp the significance.

Web presses are located in two places. The local daily or weekly newspaper is often one place. The other is the high end commercial printer, usually located in an industrial park. The best deal will usually be found at the newspaper publisher. News presses understand short deadlines, and can produce your paper within hours instead of weeks. They also have a better selection of newsprint paper stock, and offer better pricing, as a rule. You don't want heavy paper if you're paying for postage. You don't want to go broke every issue, and you will need your paper produced within a day (or over night), and not next week.

You will want to avoid going to your direct competitor, though. It's a good idea to find one in the next town or county owned by a different company.

Distribution: Direct Mail

Mailing addresses can be purchased from several sources. For a new local paper, however, I suggest you do a saturation mailing in your area, using "Standard" class (with your own permit number). Standard Class is a newer name for the old Bulk Rate. As long as you mail out at least 200 papers at a time, you will qualify for this class. You can also study up on Periodical Rate, but it has more restrictions, and may not lower your cost. Take the time to understand your options, Sit down in the main post office with US Postal representatives that can answer your questions and offer meaningful options.

Saturation is the best way to go, to start with. Depending on the mail route(s), you may not have to supply a separate address for each mail stop. Talk to the postmasters in the area you wish to cover. Postal boxes and saturating whole neighborhood routes are the simplest (and generally least expensive) way to cover every household in any local area. If you're not ready to pay for mailing to every household, then you can rotate routes, sending the first issue to one route, the next issue to another route, etc. And make sure you place papers in local stores and businesses.

Saturation mailing is also a great way to recruit new subscribers, if you choose to have subscribers. People must see the paper if they're to decide whether or not they like it. When this kind of direct mail is combined with free copies at local stores and other gathering places, everyone soon knows about the paper.

About buying mailing lists: I've never been impressed with purchased lists. But I know good mail lists are available for many areas. Be sure you get a written guarantee for a refund on every dead address from any list supplier.

Distribution: Newspapers for Sale

Another option, on making your new paper available locally, is to print a nominal price right on the front of the paper. I did this, charging 25¢ a paper. Make a big deal of how small the price is. Where can you buy a newspaper for 25¢ anymore? If you can buy a local daily for 25¢, the you charge only a dime for yours. I won't matter to you anyway, because you won't be getting the money.

12 Ways to Get Your Small Newspaper Going Strong


Whatever you charge for the newspaper will go to the store that sells it. Why? Because that provides the store with incentive to have your paper on or near the counter. It makes a sweeter deal for everyone. Readers get a great deal, the store gets a great deal, and you get your paper distributed — which helps you sell your ads! Everybody wins.

Permits, Licenses, and Legalities

Legalities are usually not much of a problem for starting and running a local paper. You should obtain regular city and/or county business permits for your business address. Be sure to register your business name with the state and/or county. Any fees for such registrations and permits are usually nominal. Your county and state clerk can help you with any specific information you need.

The Business of Making Money

Be sure to open a business account at a local bank for the paper. Shop around, if needed, until you find a bank that is enthusiastic about your business. This is a great time to talk about advertising to the banker, and the account makes life simple for your paper's bookkeeping. You may also want to find someone to keep your books for you. Trading the bookkeeping service for advertising is a good deal for both parties.

At some point, you will want to also obtain a tax id number from the IRS, or you can use your own ss# if you are the sole owner. Choosing to incorporate is a decision you can make any time. Be sure to consult with a good lawyer before you make any final decisions along those lines. There are good reasons to remain a sole proprietor as well as valid arguments for incorporating. Liability, in the event of a lawsuit or business failure, are things to to consider.

Newspaper Sales 101

Mainly, you simply need to get out and meet the business people and community leaders in your area. Let them know what you have in mind and invite them to work with you. This is the real start of any newspaper. My first day in the newspaper business was spent selling ads. You can use the first couple of issues to make your pitch to the rest of the people.

Sell in person. Telephone calls on behalf of a well-known, long established business may work. Especially, when trying to set up an appointment with a in-house corporate buyer. But for a brand new publication you need to go visit with business owners face-to-face. So take a shower, comb your hair, make proper use of deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc., and put on clean clothes. Then go out and meet your new customers.

You can only hope to get out of any sales call what you put into it. Business people only feel harassed when "bothered" by the phone in the middle of a busy day. But many will give up a little of their time if they see you also investing your time to be there in person. Your presence contributes as much to the sale as anything you could possibly say.

New in sales, with virtually no business-to-business experience? I suggest you begin with very small businesses, where there is not a "personnel barrier" around the business owner, such as an office manager or receptionist. Get in front of as many people as you can. Allow your confidence to grow with success, then move on up to larger businesses.

You are now a business owner. You're not talking to potential advertisers as someone else's representative, but as a fellow member of the business world. They will listen to what you have to say. And you're talking with them something they both need and want — even if they don't know it yet.

Every business wants more buying customers. Every business needs to increase their exposure to the public in effective and appealing ways. They need to improve and expand their "local voice." A good local paper is a valid and effective means of doing just that — especially when you include free exposure on your newspaper's website. The double exposure reaches all kinds of people.

Confession: Before I started my newspaper I always hated sales. But owning my own business, and talking about it was easy and stimulating. The same is true for the potential advertisers you meet. Business owners will not mind telling you the story of their success, so far, and what they hope to get done in the coming year, etc. Listen carefully and take notes. Learn about them and work with them to help make it happen.

We're Having Fun ... Right?

Above all things, have fun. A newspaper should fun to operate, and a pleasure for all the readers. There are lots of serious things to cover and do, but even those are all good as positive changes are made. The people of any area can do great things when encouraged and assisted in small ways. And that work is the greatest fun of all.


Common Sense Business

Owning a newspaper publishing business is like owning any other business. Ok, there are some really big differences. But some things are always the same.

Before starting any business, you need to research the local laws and regulations that may apply. While newspapers are not usually subject to any special licensing in a free society, they are always subject to the laws, taxes, and regulations that affect businesses.

Do your homework and start your paper out right.

Your research can begin at the local library, or you can simply call the city, county and state agencies in your area that regulate, inspect or tax local businesses. You can get financial advice at your local bank or credit union, and bookkeeping information and help at a local accountant's office.

Keep accurate records of all daily business-related income and expenses. Be sure to file and pay taxes properly.

Be smart and you will help to guarantee your own success. Be stupid, lazy, or shoddy in your preparations and you will be sorry later on.

Here's a simple thought to keep in mind: If the simple research and legwork required to properly start a business is too much trouble for you then you won't make it as a newspaper publisher.

News reporting of any kind is time-consuming work, and it always includes lots of research, as you chase down and organize facts. Just think of the info you need to start a business as your first big story. After all, it's the story you will be researching, testing and living for years to come if you start your own newspaper.

directories of small newspapers

Small Town Newspaper-A newspaper directory featuring small town ...Small Town Newspaper is an online newspaper directory catering to small town ... To see if your newspaper is supported, select a title from the list, ...

Browse by State - St. Marys Oracle - FSView & Florida Flambeau
www.smalltownpapers.com/ - Cached - Similar

List of newspapers in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free ...1930) — a small-circulation socialist newspaper owned by the People's Press Printing .... London - See List of newspapers in London for a more complete list ...
en.wikipedia.org/.../List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom - Cached -

Local Newspaper Websites - Newspaper Societylinks to regional newspaper websites, a, b. ... Local Newspaper Web Sites: A-Z dotted divide v2. A-B l C-D l E-F l G-H l I-J l K-L l M-N l O-P l Q-R l S | T ...
www.newspapersoc.org.uk/default.aspx?page=1228 - Cached
Hartsville Today
The first year of a small-town citizen-journalism site
A guide especially for small daily and non-daily newspapers
Douglas J. Fisher, Instructor
University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications
Graham Osteen, Publisher
The Hartsville Messenger
Funding from the Knight Foundation
Through the New Voices initiative of J-lab, the Institute for Interactive Journalism

Sunday, June 6, 2010

community radio in Bihar

An inspiring story.
------------------------------
The rollercoaster ride to success of an illiterate Bihar youth, who launched
a radio station and promoted social messages on polio, AIDS and other issues
but was arrested for illegally running it, has found place in school
textbooks.

The story of Raghav, in his mid-20s, and his 'Raghav Radio' has been
published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT) in its book "Bharat Mein Samajik Parivartan Evam Vikas" (Social
change and development in India) for Class 12.

The book describes Raghav as a role model for development in society. It
highlights his struggle and the difficulties he faced after starting 'Raghav
Radio' in Mansoorpur village in Vaishali district.

Raghav, who currently works as the project head of a community radio station
in Rajasthan's Ajmer district, told IANS over the phone that his "story in
the NCERT book will inspire people, particularly the youths, to make a
difference in society".

The book mentions Raghav as being born in a family of agricultural labourers
who were too poor to provide him with education.

It was in 2004 that Raghav, who had an electronics repair shop at Gudri
Bazar near Mansoorpur and loved to tinker with old equipment, stumbled upon
the innovative idea of launching a radio station.

With the old tools and gadgets that he had stored over the years, he
launched his radio station that very soon became a hit with the villagers.

The station operated like a community radio service in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali
and Saran districts, providing local news and views in the local dialect.

Apart from Hindi songs and news, it provided information about crime in the
area, programmes on AIDS awareness, polio eradication, literacy initiatives
and news about missing people as well as on local functions and festivals.
And all that free of cost.

The media highlighted his story and he became very popular. The union
communications ministry took notice too - but that was to be his undoing.

In 2006, the ministry sought a report on the legality of the private radio
station. Raghav did not possess an operating license as he was too poor to
pay the license fee and too naive to understand that it was illegal.

'Raghav Radio' closed down. The district authorities said it was closed for
violating the Indian Telegraphs Act.

The government held him an offender and arrested him for a brief period but
for people residing in and around Mansoorpur village, he was a hero.

Later, many NGOs came forward to help him and gave him vocational training.

Impressed by his talent and struggle, the Barefoot College at Tilonia in
Rajasthan, run by Bunker Roy, appointed him the head of Barefoot Community
Radio Station, the first of its kind in Rajasthan.

The radio service caters to the educational, development and socio-cultural
needs of the local community in a radius of six to 10 kilometres through
indigenously created broadcast programming.

From an ordinary illiterate youth to becoming someone who has the ability to
inspire people through his simple deeds, Raghav has indeed come a long way.
And the mission to inform and educate continues.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Letter to Association of small and local newspapers association of India

gmsastryhyd@gmail.com>
tokd_chandola@rediffmail.com

dateSat, Jun 5, 2010 at 11:35 AM
subjectyour feedback required

Dear sir,

As a freelance consultant I have initiated a blog on local newspapers called: http://localnewspapers.blogspot.com/.

It is aimed at empowering the social entrepreneurs in India and abroad to set up small newspapers to bring information revolution thereby bringing transformation in the society.

Kindly give your valuable opinion about the blog so that it can be improved. I am trying to propagate the concept as much as possible. Your kind words will do the needful.

Looking forward to your valuable comments,

With best regards

Sastry

Letter to All India Free Lance Journalists Association

gmsastryhyd@gmail.com>
toafja@journalistsindia.com

dateSat, Jun 5, 2010 at 11:42 AM
subjectBlog on local small newspapers

Dear sir,


As a freelance consultant I tried to compile a blog on local newspapers to promote social entrepreneurism in print journalism.

http://localnewspapers.blogspot.com/

Please give your valuable opinion on the same so that it can be improved. Your suggestions will be incoproated in the blog. I am trying to spread the concept as much as possible through my own network. I request you to spread the concept as much as possible.

Looking forward to your positive response,

with best regards

Sastry

Lettter to Press Council of India

Mruthyunjaya Sastry Gabbita
topcibpp@gmail.com,
pcimeetings@gmail.com,
pcibppcomplaint@gmail.com,
pcibpplevy@gmail.com,
pcibpplib@gmail.com,
pcibppeditoria@gmail.com,
pcibppaccount@gmail.com,
pcibpphindi@gmail.com,
pcibppadmin@gmail.com,
pcibppds@gmail.com

dateSat, Jun 5, 2010 at 11:50 AM
subjectBlog on local newspapers

Dear Secretary of Press Council of India,

As a freelance consultant I tried to bring out a blog on small and local newspapers called:

http://localnewspapers.blogspot.com/

Kindly go through it and give your valuable feedback so that it can be improved. I am trying to spread the concept through my own limited means. Based on your feedback the blog will be improved. Also refer the blog to those who are interested in print journalism at local level.

Looking forward to your valuable feedback and kind words,

G M Sastry

Friday, June 4, 2010

case study of a small daily newspaper book

An Integrated Marketing Communication Case Study of a Small Daily Newspaper Book Description
This is a multi-method case study of a small, local newspaper, which in the last several years has developed innovative product design changes and experienced an increase in its circulation. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through several phases of research including interviews and a survey. Several major findings emerged from the study. First, the results extend application of theory in mass communication and integrated marketing communication (IMC), particularly the work done by Philip Meyer, Don Schultz and the Readership Institute at Northwestern University. Second, this study provides a complete picture of the marketing mix for this newspaper, which extends current literature that addresses only individual aspects. Third, in evaluating these contact points, this study contributes customer insights specific to not only this newspaper but also to broader industrial applications. Fourth, this study provides benchmarking tools for additional research including a reader behavioral score (RBS) and ranking of RBS-motivating experiences. Fifth, the results of this study build the knowledge of readership with possible insight for other small newspapers.

Publisher: VDM Verlag
Author: Natalie Barfuss
Language: English
ISBN: 3836479702
EAN: 9783836479707
No. of Pages: 268
Publish Date: 2008-05-31
Binding: Paperback
Deliverable Countries: This product ships to United Arab Emirates, Australia, Belgium, Bahrain, Switzerland, China, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa.

Starting your own newspaper publishing business

Starting Your Own Newspaper Publishing Business



Don't Abort Life


The reasons for wanting to start a newspaper are many. Some people simply desire a business of their own. Others want to give their community better representation in the press. I started my newspaper because I wanted to help the people of my area communicate more effectively with each other.

The specific reason isn't always as important as the willingness to take that first step – to actually start a paper. Newspaper publishing is both exciting and rewarding. It’s still work (and plenty of it) but it also provides opportunities and rewards most careers never will.

Newspaper work is at least as demanding as any other job. When you get tired of taking pictures, interviewing people, selling ads, building ads, writing stories and arranging pages (not to mention making deadlines), you will still need to crank out papers. Passion for the dream will help keep the business going, but you will also need backbone and a strong commitment to excellence. You will need heart. Good friends and strong allies are not a bad thing, either.

Modern technology has made much of the work less time consuming and less costly than it was in the old days. You can now produce a great local newspaper with little more than a computer, a camera, and some good software. It is even possible for one person or a husband and wife team to own and operate their own newspaper business — as hundreds do across the United States alone.



How to Publish Your Own Small Newspaper
Can Cottage Industry Save the American Economy?

The American economy and society as a whole just may be saved by a large-scale and wholehearted return to cottage industry. The very conditions that are killing off giant corporations and large-scale manufacturing may be opening the door to profitable home-based careers and family-run businesses — to an extent not seen in this country for nearly a century. more...


Many successful news publishers have little or no background in journalism. Obviously, a lack of formal journalistic training or experience does not automatically make one a better reporter, writer or publisher. Still, you don't need a degree to start and run a great local newspaper.

If you start a newspaper in a small town you may end up doing most of the work yourself. This website answers questions about how to get your newspaper going. You can use the search box (available on most pages) to look for specific topics on this site, such as building ads, reporting the news, and so on.

One thing you must know: Newspaper publishing is an enterprise, a business. It needs to be set up properly from the beginning. You will need a bank account, a way to keep the books (or someone to keep the books for you), a business plan of some kind, and a place to work. Deadlines and schedules are also important, even for a very informal paper.

This website includes basic information on many aspects of starting and operating a small newspaper: reporting, interviewing, useful photos, ad rates (setting up your rate sheet), page layout, selling ads, building ads, necessary equipment and software, and more. I have also listed books and guides that you may find helpful in planning and building your newspaper business.

These tips and bits of advice can help you to plan and operate the business side of your publishing venture. I also urge you to meet with your banker, to check out books at the public library, and to become familiar with local laws and required permits.

The basic steps to starting out in newspaper publishing are repeated across this website. The work routine is not complicated. Here it is in a nutshell:

You will need to go out and gather news and information about your area that is of interest to your readers. This is the work of a reporter. Call and visit the local businesses, schools, governing agencies and community leaders. Get their stories, collecting news, notices, announcements. As you go, collect ads (and money) from advertisers. Take pictures of the people you talk to, and of the events you cover. Arrange the information and the pictures into pages. Have the publication printed as a tabloid or journal-sized paper. Distribute the papers. Rest up for a day or so, and start the whole process again.

If you enjoy this kind of work, you will be very happy as a newspaper, shopper, magazine or other local or special interest news publisher. If it seems like a lot of hard work, and you’d rather be painting houses or building barns, then you may want to consider a different career.

A good newspaper is central to the growth and success of the community it serves. This website touches on the good that a local paper can do. You have the opportunity to provide encouragement and the praise for the good being accomplished by everyday citizens. Your newspaper can help bring attention where it is most needed and help the people to get things done.

If you do your job well, your paper will help the good people of your area to bring about many positive changes. You will encourage and uplift and warn and entertain your readers. You will know, in the end, that it was worth the effort and time and whatever challenges you face.

Selling newspapers

Selling Success
Newspaper ads must be sold if the business is to survive and succeed. As the Publisher of your local paper, you are the person in charge of all sales. Never forget that, even if you decide at some point to hire a full or part time salesperson. Anyone you hire is just a sales person (regardless of what you choose to call them). But you are the top dog, so to speak. You make it happen.

I suggest hiring others to create ads, lay out the pages, and so on, so that you can concentrate on the part that makes you money. You sell the ads, you interview the people, you take as many photos as you can, you be the face and the voice of the paper.

Other business owners and managers will give you more respect than they will ever offer a paid salesperson. They know you can make good on anything you say. They see you as an equal, a fellow business owner and operator. They know that you are right there with them, where the pressure is felt in rough times. They know that you must work hard and plan well in order to keep going. You are peers together in the community.

Your confidence inspires fellow business owners to more confidence. Your smile is encouraging. Your handshake is meaningful. They see you in a way you may never see yourself. So the job of selling is half done before you ever open your mouth.

Know your costs before you ever go out to sell anything. Get good and concrete quotes from your printing and distribution sources. Add in the costs of your time in building the paper, and add for travel, fuel, etc. Make sure you know what it costs to be in business (don't forget taxes, which will need to be paid in quarterly if you show any profit at all).

Add to the costs of operation any living expenses that must come from the paper. Is this the only income you have? If it is, then you must add all your monthly and annual bills into the mix. Once you have a real dollar amount of what you need each month, you must divide that by the number of issue you will publish each month (you can also work from the annual amount, if that makes it any easier). How much do you have to bring in for each issue of the paper?

A simple and quick example:

Let's pretend that your combined business and living expenses are $100,000 per year. If you publish every week, then you will need to divide that amount by 52,
since there are 52 weeks in a year. That comes out to $1,923 that must be produced in ad sales each issue, or each week. If the paper is a 24 page paper, then we know we can sell ads on at least 22 pages of the paper. You will usually not sell any ads for the front page, and maybe not for the last page.

So we take the required amount of income for each issue and divide it by the number of pages on which ads will be sold. I'm going to round the actual amount ($1,923) off to an even $2,000. And then I'm going to ad an extra $500 per issue for unexpected expenses. That may seem like a lot, but it is never quite enough, when something bad happens.

Now $2500 divided by 22 pages gives us a page value of $113.63, rounded off again to $120, that absolutely must be raised by ad sales for each page of the paper.

In reality, we are not going to sell all the available space on each page, especially not at first. Plus you must keep in mind that you never want to sell more than half of any page, since it is a newspaper, and not an advertising sheet. The other content on the page is what makes people pick up the paper and look through it.

This means that no one, not even your mother, should ever get a whole page for only $120. When you sell the ads, they need to add up to more than the bare minimum of what you need each issue, or you will go broke.

It all works out. In the industry, the advertiser who buys a 2-column inch ad, for only one issue, pays more for the space than the advertiser who buys half a page for six consecutive issues. And the advertiser who buys a full page pays even less per column inch than the guy who bought a half page ad.

The space is sold by a kind of volume discount, just like ice cream or laundry soap. It's fair because you spend a lot more time building and positioning many small ads than you do building and placing one large ad.

If the pages are standard tabloid size (11 inches wide by 17 inches high), then the available space is typically 10 inches wide by 16 inches high, since a half inch margin around the page is usually left unprinted. If the page has 4 columns, that gives it a total of 64 column inches, since each of the 4 columns is 16 inches high.

In our imaginary example, then, we can sell half the page, or 32 column inches. $120 divided by 32 is a rock bottom price of $3.75 per column inch. But for the paper to survive, no one must ever pay that rock bottom price.

A full page ad that runs consecutively for 52 issues a year should probably be sold, then for $4.00 per column inch. And all ads below that size, that run for fewer issues, should be sold at a higher rate, until the guy who buys a 2-column inch ad for just one issue pays something like $6.50 per column inch.

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