- Digital Journalist Survival Guide: A Glossary of Tech Terms You Should Know
- My High School Journalism
- Citizen Media Law Project
- Knight Digital Media Center
- Community Media Sites
- Rich Gordon’s Online Community Cookbook
- Center for Social Media’s Guide to Fair Use in Online Video
- Journalism 2.0 PDF Downloads
- IJNet’s 10 Steps to Citizen Journalism Online
- The New West FAQ for Online Community Journalism Entrepreneurs
- Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive
- Citizen Media Sites
- Things We Like
- Jump Start Your Reporting
- Journalism Training Sites
- Mar. 15: The State of the News Media
- Mar. 2: Lessons to be Learned by Legacy Media
- Feb. 18: New News Site Mirrors Others
The New West FAQ for Online Community Journalism Entrepreneurs
By Jonathan Weber, Editor and Founder, NewWest.net
Almost every week, I get at least one call from someone who is interested in starting an online publication in their city/ town/ region and wants to ask my advice. I try to be helpful, though since I started New West I’ve also tried to avoid punditizing about this sector and instead prove that I can actually make a successful business. But now that we’re more than two years in and doing pretty well, and interest in this kind of venture only seems to be growing, I thought I’d offer some public answers to the proverbial Frequently Asked Questions. Hopefully these thoughts are worth a bit more than you’re paying for them, but no promises!
Why did you start New West?
In 2002, I was invited to be a visiting professor of journalism at the University of Montana. When I came to Missoula, I got very interested in what seemed to be a big story - the dramatic growth and change happening in this part of the country. At the same time, I had covered and participated in the emergence of online media from the very beginning, and by 2005, with the growth of broadband and other factors, it seemed that online media was reaching a tipping point. I thought if I could marry a big story that wasn’t being covered much as such with a new approach to journalism there might be a business there.
Did you raise money from investors? How did you go about that?
Yes, we raised a high-six-figure sum from a group of angel investors. There are some friends and family in the deal, and there are also professional investors who did it as a personal angel investment. The success of the fundraising was very much dependent on my track record and reputation as editor in chief of the Industry Standard, and required relentless networking and cajoling over a period of almost a year.
Can you get venture capital funding for something like this?
In general, no. VCs are looking for very specific kinds of deals that have the potential for very high returns. Despite what common sense might suggest, the vast majority of VCs are unmoved by an idea which might have less risk and require less capital upfront but does not have the potential to return twenty or thirty or fifty times the investment in the event of smashing success. VC media deals require ‘conquer the world’ business models, and I don’t recommend trying to conquer the world. Conquer your neighborhood first.
Comments
Very useful article for small business owners. Thanks for posting, definately got some good advice out of it.
I’ve found this article beeing very useful. Thank you
Nice, that is a worlds worth of experience. Startups are hard in general…told my buddy that runs an mmorpg communtiy to read this.
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is very useful for many of us that are in the process of starting an online publication. Keep up your great work.
I found this through the “wind farm” article on newwest and it is nice to know how this site was started. I love the site! A ton of information on all of the states I love!
This is one of those things where you have to give first and then after you pay your dues you can take. This is investment, I guess it’s the first rule in business. I appreciate you sharing these insights with all of us.
Great stuff for small business owners, thanks !
Truly helpful piece for us entrepreneurs, starting a magazine online follows the same business rules as any other standard commerce. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for posting this great article, I am a small business owner as well and find a lot of your information true. Only difference was you got a six figure sum I had to start from scratch =p. I picked up a few new useful advice thanks again!
Great post. I’m considering going the VC route in the future. Can you write a follow up to this post and let us know how everything is going? How did you go about approaching the angel investors?
Great stuff..this will aid upcoming investors..!
Some excellent points that new businesses and company start ups should read. By starting your business locally you can test the market. Get the local market right and then look to expand.
this post was very inspiring. small time investors would benefit more from this.
Nice to see a site like this dedicated to journalism…. thanks!
Jonathan, congratulations on the site/business. Realizing what is you want and pursing it with passion is paramount to any success and obviously you have passion.
That being said, thanks to the Internet, the barrier for entry into the world of journalism, at least on a personal level is practically nil. That is good, and that is bad. Real journalism where he news is reported and not created is rare. Slanted story line, couched in a reporter’s agenda is commonplace. I have been guilty of that myself.
You said, “I don’t recommend trying to conquer the world. Conquer your neighborhood first” This is so accurate. Many people lie to themselves; so busy trying to be the next CNN or Fox News. The truth is if one or more individuals were to concentrate on what they know and not what they wanted to be, they would have more success that they could handle. I have recently started a news type site, it is harder than it looks.
This is such a big help. Thank-you for the great tips. It is reassuring to know that you have had your share of struggles. I hate when people pretend this stuff is simple.
I think that an online magazine doesn’t require the outlay of a print magazine (print runs for color glossy publications are very expensive), it’s still a complex venture. At the start, it’s wise to keep your goals modest. For small city it’s better to start the magazine because that it’s what you want to do not for money.
I am a small business owner myself. I must admit, this post was very beneficial and informative.