Starting an independent newspaper
Posted July 7th, 2008 by ohioanforpaul
output
The No. 1 need for any liberty movement is having a media source somewhere which will report all the news and as it happens. To me, starting a national liberty newspaper that reports on government, state government and a strong opinion page is essential to spreading our message.
We can do this. We raised over $30 million in money bombs. Why don't we organize a money bomb to start a national newspaper?
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maybe talk to these good folks first
http://www.newhampshirefr...
I think
the Daily Paul should be our newspaper http://www.dailypaul.com/...
Dr. Paul cured my apathy
should be called
the (xxx) daily paul - the most trusted name in news.
ie, the chicago daily paul 8]
should be called
the (xxx) daily paul - the most trusted name in news.
ie, the chicago daily paul 8]
NewsTalk Radio?
Actually the medium we should consider "taking over" would be Talk Radio.
If there was a NewsTalk radio network that broadcast commentary from true conservatives and even sincere progressive liberty advocates, instead of neo-con scum, I'd listen to it all the time--while working, in the car, and even while posting on the Internet.
I'm not talking about Internet Radio, which is also a good idea, but actual NewsTalk radio you can tune in while driving your car. Radio is a very good medium for our sort of message and we would score well if we could get a foothold in it.
Imagine a three hour daily Talk Radio program hosted by one of us, featuring telephone interviews with people like Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Chuck Baldwin--and featuring rotating "guest hosts" like Jesse Ventura, George Noory, 'The Southern Avenger', and so on...
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talk radio has been tried
...and failed. It costs a lot to get on a lot of radios. LWRN tried it starting 10 years ago; still at it, and still unknown.
Do you have a proposal for how to start locally and build out to a national presence? That's how to do it, regardless of the chosen medium. Starting a national presence from nothing is too big a first step.
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I know where there is
an old printing press....
the "news" factor which is most important IMO
The one thing the Establishment-controlled mass media have going for them is their ubiquity. When you flip on a TV news program, no matter how obvious to you it is that they're lying, you know you're going to see the same lie on every other channel -- and it will be repeated in every major newspaper and news magazine etc., and everyone else is going to see it. Here's the kicker: you are faced with a quandary; you don't know how many other people will realize that it's a lie. In order to be "safe" you have to assume most people *won't* realize that, and will accept it as "the truth" (after all, they saw it on TV!).
It's much like the "prisoner's dilemma". Each person seeing a lie on the "news" must choose whether he/she personally will pretend to believe it. We don't know how many others will also pretend, nor do we know how many others will really believe the lie. We do know, from past experience, that the mass media will go on pretending that the lie is true, and any contrary evidence will be ridiculed or even suppressed. We will be shown many people who appear to believe the lie (whether they do or are only pretending is irrelevant here). Thus, the "safe" choice is, always, to also pretend to believe it. There's usually no "penalty" for that choice, whereas choosing to openly disbelieve the official lie incurs a risk of stigmatization, or even ostracization, as a "kook". These days, the potential risks are even greater; we are entering territory wherein challenges to official lies can actually result in personal harm, including loss of liberty or even possibly loss of life itself.
To be effective, our new media must overcome this P.D.-like effect. But how? I believe the answer was shown to us a few years ago.
Jonathan Saturen ran the Crook County (WY) "Sentinel" for 5 years. It was a truth-telling independent paper. He was funded by local ranchers who were interested in getting the word out to people about the raw deals they were getting from the feds. In return for them subsidizing him spreading that information, Saturen gave the ranchers an open invitation to contribute any content they wanted to.
What made this paper unique, and of value to our discussion here, was the
distribution model. Saturen paid the USPS to distribute the "Sentinel" to every mail route address in the county. By doing that, he took distribution efforts off his table, and -- more importantly -- created a new "common" information source for everyone in the county. The key was that everyone in the county knew that everyone else in the county was getting that same info source. By doing that, Saturen ensured that his paper had to be taken seriously.
The results were noteworthy: major changes were made in how the county government operated, and several corrupt officials were replaced with better ones.
I believe we can and must learn from this, and that when we do, we're going to change this country in a much shorter time than most of us have been thinking we'll need. All we need is an adaptation of the above idea which can (a) start small/local, (b) be scaled/replicated infinitely, and (c) is not subject to being taken over by the Bad Guys. While I'm not certain what it is, I have a hunch that the Internet offers us some means of realizing those objectives; what remains is to discover it and GIT 'R DONE.
I don't favor an Internet-only approach for the simple reason that any given site, or set of sites, can be ignored; while anyone and everyone *can* access it/them, there is no way of knowing that everyone *is* doing or *will* do so. Thus, no matter how good a web site we might create, it will fail the P.D.-type psychological barrier test vs. the ubiquity of Establishment TV and other mass mind control media. A paper (or whatever) which shows up on *every* doorstep *every* week/month passes that test and becomes competitive.
Another idea I've had, which may or may not end up being the same project as the above (or part of it, or vice versa), is to create our own alternative to Reuters/AP/UPI. It would be "open source" in spirit, with literally anyone able to become a news reporter. It would contain peer- and user-review mechanisms which, when implemented on a large scale, would overwhelm any attempt to game the system. We already have YouTube and tons of other blogging and info-posting sites and systems; I just know we can do this.
Work with me, people.
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A good idea. I still support
A good idea. I still support the national effort with local ones springing off of the national paper. I could also see a TV network once we got started and built a cliental. You can't expect folks to become more active and see the problem with this system without knowledge. Knowledge is power!
We want to complain all the time about the media. We could raise enough finances to get a national paper started and become their competition.
prove it
A national paper that goes to every doorstep? That's *serious* $$$$$$$. But if you can pull it off, I'm ready to help. Problem is, that's a gigantic elephant to eat. That's why I recommend we start with something a bit more bite-sized -- like a county.
Or do you mean yet another national paper which *doesn't* go to every doorstep, and is therefore ignored forever just like Republic Magazine, AFP, The Idaho Observer, The New American, etc.?
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Media source yes, but newspaper doesn't quite cut it for me.
To get a large percentage of everyone (old, young, busy, apathetic, zealots...) you need circulation and content applicable to everyone in one source. Most people I know don't read papers anymore. My parents do and so do their friends. Most of them, however don't use the internet for news.
The single source that has the biggest audience is hand down, television. To do a news show and try to supplant the local news is not going to work either unless you have reporters in every community in the country. (My neighbor had to tell us last week to boil our contaminated city water because we don't get any local news!) However, there are programs like Glen Beck, Keith Olberman, Stephen Colbert and especially Jon Stewart of the Daily Show that are making big news. If we could hold people's interest in an entertaining way, viewership could grow fairly quick. People are simply tired of the mainstream TV news. I remember joining the "flocking" toward "Fox's new "Fair and Balanced" news show when it first came out. Finally, I thought, a show that's not biased. Sorry to report that I was so mistaken. Either way, with any decent advertisement up front, people may again flock to it. If content is good, they'll stay.
If it does well, we can drive it from a small time channel (or even web plus PBS airings) to a larger channel. If we get big time enough, censorship can be overridden by creating a whole new channel.
At our house, we want to watch TV, but consistantly turn it off because the content and attitude of both programs and advertisers is pure crap. CAPITALIZE ON THIS!
Perhaps this could be a movement to ramp something like Justin.TV up bigger. Who knows. One thing I do know is that I will never read a newspaper again.
I don't watch TV anymore.
Tamckissick:"At our house, we want to watch TV, but consistantly turn it off because the content and attitude of both programs and advertisers is pure crap. CAPITALIZE ON THIS!"
Actually, give what you just said some serious thought. You want to watch TV..but you don't anymore.
I don't, either. As in "never". I only stop in midstride to the kitchen to watch it for five seconds at a time when my wife tells me a storm is coming on the Weather, or there's a strange news item, or some tidbit about a celebrity that's interesting, which is rare. Since television nowadays deals in quick-cut bites, five seconds is all I usually ever bother. Then I go to the refrigerator for my iced tea, or whatever, and tune out the TV.
My wife still watches Satellite-Channel Cable TV, and she's an intelligent woman. But then, she's a person who uses the Internet less than one hour a day.
Most people have already divided into camps of Internet People vs. Television People. You can be one or the other, but generally not both at the same time.
I think we want the Internet People to be the ones most involved with our cause. The time for people like us to take over the Television industry would have been eight years ago, when reality shows were just starting and network TV was trying to become unconventional in order to find new audiences. The new audiences got bored, and went back to the Internet.
Television is the most expensive medium, and it's slowly dying. We don't need it.
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Support the Constitution of the United States
independent newspaper
What I would envision is a weekly newspaper both Internet and print and be state specific. All issues would have Federal and State issues summarized on the front page. The paper would be divided into four sections, Federal government news and mischief both nationally and Internationally, State government news and mischief with highlights of articles from the other 49 states with links to the complete article. Regional government news and mischief. County government news and mischief within each state with additional coverage of local government news and mischief. Also create special Election Issues highlighting all candidates for office at the local, county, regional, state and federal level.
Advertising would be done at the local and county level with business card sized ads highlighting the supporters of this Freedom/ Liberty oriented newspaper. Nationwide advertisers on the federal news pages and statewide advertisers on the state news pages.
More later.
Here is an idea for the structure of an independent newspaper. Note that it has individual state newspapers. http://www.idahoobserver....
Add the following to the list of Liberty oriented newspapers
http://www.proliberty.com...
Voluntary Association + Mutual Cooperation + 110% Personal Responsibility = 100% Individual Liberty
newspaper?
Newspapers all over are losing circulation and cutting back. Ad revenue is declining. Sounds like a plan to build and sell another Hummer. Build it online and they will come.
Newspapers are losing money
Newspapers are losing money because they are not giving the reader what they want. You can pick up one in Pittsburgh and another in Milwaukee and they have the same stuff - a few pages of local news with the same online AP stories for state, national and international. This is a newspaper that actually reports the news and all of it. I would not use AP except maybe for some photos. All copy would be staff copy.
risk
I suggest research first. Talk to the owners of newspapers and the employees that are being let go. Talk to others who have tried to start up national newspapers and failed. I'm not against your project at all. Try it! I suggest research for anyone starting a business, especially in a field that is in decline.
I know someone who has been
I know someone who has been in the journalist business and one of the top feelings is newspapers are becoming too much of the same. A few pages of local news and sports but mostly wire stories you can get anywhere.
Newspapers are harder to run but if you had unique content, like what our reporting would be, I believe it can work.
Our unique content is reporting the truth, with investigative styles.
I'd have a 30 page national paper for 50 cents. Half would be devoted to national government. 15 percent to international, 25 percent to state, including interesting local stories, and 10 percent to opinion.
We don't want it to have the
We don't want it to have the 'rogue' element or look. We want it to look similar to the other big nationals, the only different being its content. A big week series on the Fed and things like that. Investigative reporting, breaking the news, etc. Go to Bilderberg and demand access.
We've had some noble operations like American Free Press, but it's time to take the next step.
Theres a couple out there!
http://www.libertysentine...
http://www.usobserver.com...
Mike
"Fire Team for Freedom", "Operation Daily Paul" and "Revolutionary Business"
visit www.mikeandjake.com
and also
www.republicmagazine.com
www.americanfreepress.net
www.ronpaulnewspaper.com
A neighbor
gave me the American freepress to read and it was good. I get the Republic magazine very professional looking. Peace
Start it, and I'll be your
Start it, and I'll be your editorial cartooonist on the Op-Ed page.
SUPPORT OUR FOUNDERS' AMERICA
Support the Constitution of the United States
ohionforpaul: It's time we reached the non-internet voters.
This would be a great idea for Campaign for Liberty. They have the money to get it started and as a grassroots organization we could supply the distribution locally. To start with keep it small like a newsletter and just cover federal news.Give it the feel of mystique like an "underground paper" .That would attract college kids too. Distribute it free like the local weekly shoppers ,doctor's offices, fast food places, Starbuck's, grocery stores, libraries, colleges, etc.
To start with maybe there is a way that we could just download, print and distribute it locally. Or the HQ could arrange it with local print shops.
We could offer a subscription for home delivery by mail to defray costs.
Maybe someone with more experience than myself can run with this.
then start it, no one is
then start it, no one is stopping you.
The thing with grassroots movements is you cant suggest things, you have to do them yourself.
Start it up and I will write for it an also take photographs.
A newspaper is going to run
A newspaper is going to run at a loss for the first year until the entity can break enough stories and get its name out there for the public to notice and start buying and selling advertising.
Looks like a couple of these papers are on their last breath and most of them deal with opinion. That's not going to work. The Republic magazine and AFP are the best two I've seen, but we need to grow beyond this.
I hate to be such a bitch about it, but everyone gets on here and whines at the media repeatedly. The only way they might think of starting to do their own job is starting legitimate competition with them. Legitimate competition is not an opinion paper printed on a couple of sheets of newspaper or from a computer printer.