What would be required to start your own local newspaper?

Question

Anyone with any ideas, or experience in doing this?

Answer 1

I am a former newspaper reporter.

Let me tell you - you can do anything you want (as one person has previously mentioned).

If you want to do this low budget - you can simply use a microsoft template (the publisher template) which allows you to create your newspaper however you want - adding pages, photos, color - and then you can save to disk and take to a local printer - even places like Kinko's and have it printed.

The main point is that if you don't want to pay for it yourself, that is where advertising comes in. Just like the High School football programs have to sell ads so they pay for themselves, so does every other great publication.

I think the first things you want to accomplish are roughly in the following order:
1) Draft outline the idea for your paper - what you are writing about, focusing on and is that topic/idea enought to generate several editions? Or do you need to broaden the idea of your paper?
2) Figure out your target market - this goes hand in hand with the item above. Also, where are you going to distribute these and how? Via mail? Leave a stack a different shops or stores? This step is important because it leads to the next step....
3) Go to your target market and see if they would like to advertise with you. Use this money to fund your printing costs and if you have enough, to get some "freelance" articles from your associates...
4) Get information from printers and the local copy shops to see what they need from you in order to print your paper - can they only print from certain programs? Do you need to save to a certain type of file? Get those technicalities out of the way.
5) Choose a software program that is compatible with those printers (copy place) you want to use.
4) Create your paper - layout, photos, stories, etc... save to disk/or whatever format they need... print and distribute!

For more detailed information, there are great amount of books - that are short and easy to read, that detail these steps - and have many more examples to make it really easy. Go to your local library or bookstore and check them out.

I have a few, one called "How to start your own Zine" - a zine is a copier shop style newspaper/magazine printed and distributed - all low budget style. There are many resources.

Answer 2

You can job out the printing of the paper itself. Many smaller newspapers take on other printing, including other papers, to supplement their income.

You have to have a way to distribute the papers effectively, and to an appropriate market so that advertisers will agree to buy advertising (your income).

You will need someone to sell advertising that knows the market. Also, you will take a terrible financial hit in your first year if not longer.

Finally, you have to produce the paper itself. This is the least difficult and last thing to worry about.

Answer 3

Lot of money and a lot of drive. You'll need to line up advertisers. Perhaps tease them in with the first month free? That will require capital. I'd also plan on doing a lot of the writing and editing yourself for the first bit.

Be CERTAIN to have a decent editor available. Nothing is worse than a small-town paper that READS like a small-town paper. If you want help editing stories, drop me a line, I'm happy to help!

Good Luck!

Answer 4

you could start an online newspaper with an email list and some design expertise. You also need to somehow create the content.

if you want a physical newspaper, there are many that will help you get started in your neighborhood.

mainly it is going to be about selling advertisement because that is how all newspapers support themselves. YOu need circulation to sell the advertisement. that is the main thing in newspapers.

Answer 5

It would take capital, a printing press, corporate or business sponsors who would be willing to place their ad in your paper and pay you for it. A good staff would help as well. It would take no legal documentation if that is what you were thinking, that part of this country is still free, anyone can publish just about anything. Depending on where you wanted to go with this, you could just do a little 'homemade' paper and take it to a copier and pass them out. I have seen that before and some great things have come out of it!

Answer 6

A printing press. The ability to write well. Lots of customers. The ability to keep those customers interested. Time. Time and more Time. And mola or a rich sugar daddy with mola to give you.

Answer 7

Money, a buying base, money, industrial sized printers, money, writers, money, recording devices, money, customer service, money.... did I mention money?

Answer 8

lots of money