Newspapers: My Local Newspaper Idea

I am a freelance photojournalist. That means I have articles and photos I want to see in print or otherwise in/on the media. I've been published, generally with less pay than exposure, on an online paper, the North Florida News Daily (http://northfloridanewsdaily.com/). Archive "John McCoy," and my work begins with item 5. They finally got those cows to higher ground (http://www.northfloridanewsdaily.com/News/2008/0825/community/148.html ) and, while I wish I had gotten paid, the exposure means a lot.
I'm also being published on HUBpages. Business Startup Suggestions (http://hubpages.com/hub/Business-Startup-Suggestions ) is one of my HUBs (look for more) and in Associated Content, Against All Odds Review of DVD PROUD (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1416153/against_all_odds_review_of_dvd_proud.html?cat=19 ).
This is the story of one of only two US Navy warships in World War II to be entirely manned (except officers and petty officers) by African-Americans. It's an excellent movie and, as wartime anniversaries loom, a part of history which needs to be remembered.
In those days, African-Americans were given nowhere near the credit they deserved. "You can't let them on a Navy ship; they're only good enough to be cooks and stevedores. They lack the intelligence to work the radios, the radar, and the sonar. You certainly can't trust them with the ship's guns - they might sink themselves, for goodness sakes."
Watch the movie. They won their war against the Nazis relatively easily; it took a lot longer and a lot more effort to win the war against prejudice back home. President Bill Clinton eventually presented them the Presidential Unit Citation (how many years after WW II ended?) and that is both in the movie and the history books.
Here's a site where you can find out more of what these gallant men did for their country and African-Americans in general. http://www.ussmason.org/
While not part if my current discussion, remember also the Tuskegee Airmen, (http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/lgimage/air29.htm, and (http://www.acepilots.com/usaaf_tusk.html ).
Please look for more of my work on my citations above. With luck and enough views (hint, hint) I might even get paid.
I am now beginning involvement with an online media called http://www.examiner.com/ and have great hopes. I have no examples there, yet, but here's one of their sites: http://www.examiner.com/Jacksonville. I'll be joining them shortly as an examiner. My "beat," for now, involves small business and related subjects..
The Westside Journal, a local paper which goes every Thursday to all mailboxes and homes on the west side of Nassau County, FL (circulation more than 12,000) sometimes publishes (and pays) for my work and therein, misquoting Shakespeare, lies the rub.
My editor depends upon advertising, not subscriptions, and her paper is strictly limited by that fact.
Don't take the Westside Journal for granted. It's a good newspaper with an excellent reputation. I'm often told by area readers that they like it better than its competitors. (I think there is merit in all the local papers, but I'm kind of prejudiced. The Westside Journal sometimes prints my work and as any would-be photojournalist knows, that makes it a very good newspaper, indeed.)
My editor sometimes gives me assignments but, since she might not print my work due to a lack of space, doesn't pay for the articles and photos. She prints, I believe, what she has space for and she does pay me mileage, regardless of whether or not she publishes my work.
The mileage helps since I do have to travel sometimes to get the story, but I would like even the meager amount she can afford to pay for articles and photos even better. And, of course, the more of my work getting into print, the better my reputation becomes. Many more people know of me than I could ever recognize.
Remember, my mileage is a legitimate business expense for which I get a credit from the IRS. Other business expenses include anything which I do only because of the business (Bev-Mac Enterprises). That includes money for paid memberships in "social (read business related)" networks, equipment, dedicated cell phone and a pc card getting my laptop on the Internet. I can reach anyone from my car and deliver photos and articles.
Like most entrepreneurs, I'm self employed which puts me in a different category for taxes. Don't forget to check with your tax preparer or the IRS for what you can and can't deduct. (And don't forget to talk with SCORE - the Senior Citizens Organization of Retired Executives; they've "been there" and "done that" on just about any business you can imagine.) Here's a website: http://www.score.org/index.html. Any businessperson or entrepreneur, whether you are just starting out or have been in business for years, needs to check this out.
Many cities, Jacksonville, for example, offer help to entrepreneurs. The Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce has a Business Resources office which can give a lot of help. Here's the web site: http://www.myjaxchamber.com/general.asp?id=2 .
Charles Gibson, I think, recently talked on his CBS Evening News program about a number of businesses which had gone under in recent years. I wonder how many of them knew about or took advantage of SCORE. I'd like to ask him, but getting a comment to him is beyond me. If anyone out there can tell Charles Gibson and CBS News about SCORE, just refer them to me.
I get into sports games free as media. People know who I am and I've even been stopped on the street and asked about articles. I tell them I'm only a stringer but "I can guarantee you one thing: If you don't' submit your idea, either through me or to the editor directly, you'll never see it in print."
While similar to my concept of the lottery: "You can't win if you don't play - but if you do play, you probably won't win anyway," it does offer one big difference.
If I submit it, or the editor gets it, you're very likely to see it in print - unless lack of space prevents it. As editor of my own "mini-newspaper," I'll have a lot of control over what I print.
I like to go to football games and have been known to take several hundred (my personal record, so far is 503) photos. I'm still learning but some turn out well. Again, she prints what she can - but I'd like to see more. I also have a website where I could sell photos and I haven't made real use of it. That's going to change.
I don't see enough of my work in print. It occurred to me, with the help of a couple of more farsighted people than I, that if I were to buy pages in a newspaper (1, 2 or 4), I might sell ads to support those pages and then print what I wanted -- as long as it were in good taste and legal.
As part of my ploy to attract advertisers, I plan to tell them that if they contract with me for six months or a year - four papers a month - I will do a story on them once a month. I'll feature their "employee of the month" for example. I will also, as I see fit, print stories of their new offerings, movements, changes and so forth as regular news.
This concept lends itself to being used nation, perhaps worldwide, with national advertisers. While I may be able to fill the pages in my local area, I can work with my other contacts to fill pages elsewhere.
I'm a member of a LinkedIn group called "Write On, Networkers (http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=2088447&sharedKey=1A4D5C6D611C) ." I mentioned, to be honest, in passing, that my pages might be open to members (though without pay at first). The moderator of that group thought that "an excellent idea." In reality, it's a very good idea. She runs various contests and I could print the winning article as a prize.
HUBpages, Associated Content and the Examiner also offer possibilities. The Examiner, for example, is based in various cities. There's no reason I couldn't find distributors in those cities to add some local ads to my national ones and find things, perhaps their own Examiner articles, to put on them. I'm sure Examiner officials would delight in seeing their writers and photographers in print.
I wouldn't have to worry about establishing circulation as I would take advantage of established media. Besides guaranteed numbers, I could offer advertisers something very important: I would put their ads on pages very likely to be read by buyers since there would be stories and photos there they would want to read. That works much better than a mass of ads which may be no better than the sainted "old newspaper," only good to wrap yesterday's fish.
An example: My editor likes the idea of printing articles about local churches (The Church of the Month), but has had to stop, for now, because of a very real lack of space. Another of her ideas - and I'm sure one used in many media - is asking opinions on specific questions. We usually asked four people the question and printed their photos and responses. Again, she's had to stop - not enough space.
One of those I got a response from and a photo actually told me he felt like a celebrity. People were asking him to autograph the item in their copy of the Westside Journal.
I like that and I hope to hear it a lot more.
This is another article which grew like Topsy. Thanks for putting up with me. Good luck to us all.