Thursday, April 28, 2011
Calhoun County Alabama Local NewsThere is no immediate local news in Calhoun County Alabama, and has not been since WJSU became part of the greater ABC 33-40 co-prosperity sphere in 1996.
I don't mean any slight to our local news reporting sources in radio and cable TV, but what they are able deliver is not the same as having a home owned full time home owned news oriented tv or radio station.
The closest thing to real news is and always has been the Anniston Star. Though they have veered into video, it's still not as dynamic as real time reports from a dedicated source.
GetCalhoun.com had daily weekday news for a few years when we maintained a business relationship with Alabama 810, and nobody was more tickled than me. Our news archives from that period are still VERY popular. Still, nothing immediate about that.
Worse, most of our local AM radio stations either go to low power, or close down when the sun goes down. And while FM stations do have news reportage, that isn't their first mission.
I always had a dream that one day GetCalhoun.com could get into the local news business. The fact is that a forward thinking local website could do a passable job of immediate news with an exceedingly low overhead for the service.
Alas, there is only me. As much as I would like to be a news reporter, which I have been off and on all my life, I had to make a decision. Time away gathering news is time lost here on production work.
GetCalhoun.com up to the minute news would need two things to become a reality. That being, a reporter, and revenue. Everything else is already on hand or could be procured cheaply.
Local news has always been about revenue. The business community has to be willing to support the news provider. Online news can be done FAR more cheaply than in a regular brick and mortar business. But it does take funds.
I believe there are enough people in Calhoun County Alabama who yearn for news, particularly during times of peril, that GetCalhoun.com up to the minute news could become a reality. While not perfect, because of the relatively low costs, it is something that could be done for not much more than a livable salary for the reporters. There are people who are drawn to news that would be ecstatic to do a GREAT job, if they only had the chance, and be perfectly willing to be paid in peanuts for the opportunity.
I'd love to hear your opinion about this, especially if you have money, resources, or the ability to generate revenue. The operational end is already in place.
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