Starting a Newspaper?
The other day, I was awakened by a phone call from an old friend. She abruptly told me that she wanted to publish a local paper in her town, and wanted to see me for an advise. I went to see her and heard all about her project.
She told me that she has been thinking about it ever since she came to the town 25 years ago when she married a local man from a wealthy family. He died a few years ago, leaving her some real estate to support her life although they are not so much for a luxury life. Now she wants to start her own life while she doesn't have to worry about daily bread and butter. A free paper that will carry many useful information for her local life, sponsored by local advertisers, came in her mind. Actually, she once helped a local paper in another town before she married. She thought she has experiences, resources and a chance.
The chance she wanted to catch was the great merge of local autonomies in Japan. Japanese villages, towns and cities have been merged into much larger units, although they are still called towns and cities. Usually, three or four villages, towns, and cities are merged into one city. I don't think it is suitable to call such a wide area "city," but nonetheless, the forests and hills now belong to a city. Whatever the name is, the purpose of this great merge is to make efficient local governments to govern people more efficiently. I don't like this idea, either. But who cares, the great merge is going on, and my city will be a greater city absorbing three towns by the next year.
Her local town will be merged into a city with three other towns. And people from other town will be lost in their own city because they didn't know what's going on in other towns. This is the chance she didn't want to miss. A local paper for the new city will be needed, and she can publish it.
I advised her many things about editing a newspaper. I told her how much budgets will be needed, and I estimated the ins and outs of the project. She thanked me for giving her many useful information, and promised me to hire me when she needs a consultation. I told her that I can give her assistance to get started, although I will not be able to be an editor for the paper. It will not be my job.
Three days later, she called me again, and told me that she thought over, and wants to stop the project. She made some excuse, but the reason I felt was that the project will too large for her to handle. She didn't realize how hard will she have to work to start a newspaper, even if it is a small local one.
She told me that she has been thinking about it ever since she came to the town 25 years ago when she married a local man from a wealthy family. He died a few years ago, leaving her some real estate to support her life although they are not so much for a luxury life. Now she wants to start her own life while she doesn't have to worry about daily bread and butter. A free paper that will carry many useful information for her local life, sponsored by local advertisers, came in her mind. Actually, she once helped a local paper in another town before she married. She thought she has experiences, resources and a chance.
The chance she wanted to catch was the great merge of local autonomies in Japan. Japanese villages, towns and cities have been merged into much larger units, although they are still called towns and cities. Usually, three or four villages, towns, and cities are merged into one city. I don't think it is suitable to call such a wide area "city," but nonetheless, the forests and hills now belong to a city. Whatever the name is, the purpose of this great merge is to make efficient local governments to govern people more efficiently. I don't like this idea, either. But who cares, the great merge is going on, and my city will be a greater city absorbing three towns by the next year.
Her local town will be merged into a city with three other towns. And people from other town will be lost in their own city because they didn't know what's going on in other towns. This is the chance she didn't want to miss. A local paper for the new city will be needed, and she can publish it.
I advised her many things about editing a newspaper. I told her how much budgets will be needed, and I estimated the ins and outs of the project. She thanked me for giving her many useful information, and promised me to hire me when she needs a consultation. I told her that I can give her assistance to get started, although I will not be able to be an editor for the paper. It will not be my job.
Three days later, she called me again, and told me that she thought over, and wants to stop the project. She made some excuse, but the reason I felt was that the project will too large for her to handle. She didn't realize how hard will she have to work to start a newspaper, even if it is a small local one.
posted by Jun | 6:30 PM
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