On Saturday, February 4th, 2023, the League of Women Voters organized a community forum to help local communities learn what would it take to launch and sustain a non-profit and non-partisan news organization dedicated to local reporting. The forum took place at the Acton Town Hall and attracted a standing-room-only crowd.
Interested in participating? Stay tuned for more news...
What is Your Vision for a Local Community News Source?
We’ve been thinking about what is missing in our community without a vibrant local news reporting source. As you think about what YOUR vision is for such a venture and discuss today, we’d like to share what our parameters were as we planned this event. We are talking about a weekly publication. The news would be overwhelmingly local coverage not regional or national. The organization would be nonprofit and nonpartisan.
The Speakers
We heard briefly from speakers for three neighboring publications which offer different models about how to deliver the news. They range from one publication which has been publishing since 1972 to one that just started last October.
- Penny Zezima, Carlisle Mosquito – Currently columnist who has worked on the Carlisle Mosquito for 39 years in various roles including news editor, production manager, Board chair and more
- Teri Morrow, The Bedford Citizen – Currently serving as Executive Director in a volunteer capacity, previously served as president
- Virginia (“Dinny”) McIntyre, The Concord Bridge – Board member focused on fundraising and not-for-profit governance who brings deep roots in the Concord community and experience with municipal and not-for-profit boards
You May Be Wondering About the Costs
How much does it cost to start up a nonprofit news source? The answer will depend on some of the decisions made at the beginning. A digital only format is less expensive than a printed copy. Mailing only to subscribers is less expensive than mailing to every household in town. Using volunteer staff is less expensive than paying staff. If the publication is planning to use paid staff, these personnel costs will be the largest driver of expenses. In our conversation with a representative from the Institute for Nonprofit News (inn.org), she indicated that a minimum cost to start up for the first year would probably be about $200,000. She also suggested that a new publication would want to plan for a couple years’ expenses initially so there was a bit of a ramp to get the publication started and have some breathing room as it grows.
About the Publications:
Data on Population and Number of Households for our LWV-Acton Area Towns and Featured Publications
