| I have met a LOT of independent publishers - we | | | | with our papers. I wanted, needed the community |
| are quirky lot with as many ways out there of | | | | to get behind this venture - the world's first |
| doing business as mastheads! A number of | | | | newspaper written entirely by its readers! |
| customers have started asking about my | | | | As momentum started building a good mate of |
| background in media and where I intend to go | | | | mine Peter stepped in for a few months. He is a |
| with it. I have also shared some terrific | | | | business systems analyst and together we set |
| conversations with many publishers about their | | | | about streamlining the publishing process. We |
| own stories, why they got into media and how | | | | joked over a couple of reds one night that we |
| they continue to address the challenges of a | | | | were going to design a model and build a system |
| rapidly changing media landscape. I thought a blog | | | | that received content and ads and at the push of |
| might go some way to sharing these stories with | | | | a button produced a newspaper. Since then I |
| other professional and would-be publishers. | | | | have met with over 200 independent newspaper |
| Questions and comments are welcomed. | | | | publishers through Australia, Europe, UK and the |
| I started in Media 7 years ago as a management | | | | USA, to learn how they do business and what |
| consultant to a community newspaper. I had just | | | | they want. |
| returned from a year in Nepal with AusAID and | | | | Why media? Because it is a powerful tool for |
| had absolutely no media experience. Suddenly I | | | | information sharing and is one of the fastest |
| was in charge of a team of ten. I enjoyed the | | | | morphing industries in the world - I like that. My |
| experience so much that a year later I launched | | | | professional background is in social services, |
| my own community newspaper in another town. | | | | business and microfinance. If I can help connect |
| Unfortunately this was not quite the 'romance' I | | | | ordinary everyday people via worthy, community |
| had anticipated and very quickly I was neck deep | | | | content, then I'm doing my bit. I forsee farmers |
| in one of the most stressful and high-touch | | | | in remote lands knowing which grain of rice will |
| enterprises I had ever engaged. This was hard | | | | endure the changing climate; a family in South |
| work! | | | | Africa readily accessing information on family |
| So I buried myself in the business, working 70 | | | | planning beyond politics; companies that want to |
| hour weeks for 18 months. We were a 32 page | | | | sell more products putting making a greater |
| full colour free tabloid monthly. I sold all the ads, | | | | effort to help the world move beyond hunger so |
| shared ad design and layout with my partner | | | | that its people can buy their products. I don't |
| Leonie, wrote 90% of the articles and distributed | | | | have the answers, but media in the hands of |
| 20,000 of our 40,000 copies. We would go to | | | | more will open those doors and facilitate those |
| press at 4am and a truck would arrive at 9am | | | | answers. |