Closing in on a dream
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November 13, 2013 |
By Mike Weland
Publisher
It’s taken nearly three years, but newsbf.com is
finally beginning to close in on what I dreamed
it should be; a small town “paper” in a new and
exciting media that combines the best of all
that’s come before.
Back in the day, and not so long ago, Boundary
County residents had to rely on word of mouth
until Thursday morning, when the Bonners Ferry
Herald came out, to get the “real” scoop on what
was going on around town; who was getting
married, who had welcomed a new child. How the
Badgers did at the last game, how the vote went
on election day.
Of course, those who needed and wanted to know
did, and well before the paper came out, but it
didn’t seem assured until you could clip the
picture and hang it by a magnet on the
Frigidaire.
You could also cut out ads and coupons to make
your next trip to trade more efficient.
Then, in the late 1970s, Boundary County got its
own radio station, AM 1450, KBFI. For the first
time, folks could tune in and hear news as it
was happening. You could hear, when the DJ was
informed, of fires and floods, car wrecks and
road closures, just by tuning in. When nothing
of import was happening, you could expect
entertainment, music and banter … whatever it
took to keep listeners tuned in and hearing the
ads.
Over time, though, the cost of paper, ink and
air became more expensive, the cost of
advertising started going up. As small
businesses were priced out, it became more
effective for the media that survived to look
for corporate advertisers, and to keep an
audience, to provide regional instead of local
news.
Instead of “Swap Shop,” KBFI listeners were
treated to Rush. Local reporters, an expense in
any media, found themselves seeking other lines
of work as newswires and talking heads proved
more efficient and took their place.
The newspapers and stations that adjusted and
put their emphasis on attracting advertisers,
though still struggling, are still hanging in;
those who tried to maintain local journalistic
integrity fell, and the upstarts that tried to
revive the tradition in traditional media
didn’t, couldn’t, compete.
Newsbf isn’t getting rich … but it doesn’t have
to. I don’t buy ink or air, my media is measured
in pixels. News is why I publish, advertising
helps me present news and information without
charge to those who want and need it. And thanks
to the internet, with global reach, it is
unrestricted by time or deadlines.
I mentioned that I’m beginning to close in on my
dream to restore local news.
I started noticing it when I started running
articles on lost pets.
I didn’t get more
advertisers, but I began getting more people
sending me news to share …and comments that my
reports were helping, which to me is the best
indication that people are reading.
Sunday morning, I had no idea what the day would
bring to keep me busy. I had nothing.
I didn’t twiddle my thumb long.
I got word of Care-N-Share, a Veteran’s Day post
from our Congressman. I learned of an amazing
young man who enjoyed an awesome experience, of
the golden anniversary of a couple dear to this
community, of a local effort to help a Troy mom
in need.
I received the most valuable commodity
I believe any news media can aspire to; news from
people in the community willing to let me share
and who have the trust that the telling will be
fair.
You can’t take a pair of scissors to what you
read here, but you can hit “print” and stick it
to the refrigerator with a magnet. You can right
click and save the pictures and stories to email
friends or post to Facebook.
You can enjoy reading again, even though not all
news is good.
Jaeger Schnuerle thanked me for the story I
wrote, as did his mother.
I don’t seem able to convince them that it is I
who is grateful to them for letting me tell
their story. That is what news is. |
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