As I sit in my apartment, reflecting on almost three years of struggle trying to build something with nothing, I have to say the good outweighs the bad. Building something with nothing is the American Dream, I guess, but the reality is it’s very difficult to make money without having start-up money.

Almost three years ago, I was let go by Gannett (for whatever reason), but I had a choice. I could have sold myself to another corporation. I made a decision to try something else, though. Sitting here now, I’m glad I made the choice and have stuck with it. Things large and small let me know daily I’m on the right track if I can just hold out a little longer while the work put in so far begins to pay off.

For example, a few months back, I finally managed to track down a childhood friend I’d known 17 years ago (pre-Internet!) and we had a chance to catch up a little. When it came to my turn to let her know what I’ve been up to, I ended with the statement that I’d started my own newspaper. She didn’t sound surprised, just laughed told me that sounded like something I’d do. Heh. Even seventeen years ago I’d be known for a stunt like this?

Many other examples abound (the people who I’m around online or in real life every day - thanks to all of you, my whole network.) And it’s the little things like this that give a man hope in a world where there’s very little hope no matter where you turn.

Deliverance:

Out here on the front lines, there are more and more little pieces of the puzzle coming together. Take Anderson Free Press (dot net - long story/short novel) - it’s a sister site to Muncie Free Press, launched many moons afterwards. Something happened, though. Big media dropped the ball. (And to this day I don’t think they’ve realized it yet. Their pride will be their downfall?)

A-10 year veteran of their online forums was banned by someone at The Herald Bulletin. Now, there are disputes as to why the poster was banned, but this banning came at the end of a long, heated political campaign that led to the Anderson, Indiana Mayoral problems that went national a little.

A friend of this person (who lived out of state, but is a vibrant member of numerous online communities, including the CNHI owned (but not operated?) Hey Martha forums), contacted me and let me know AFP (as it soon became known) was kinda lame but that a group of people were looking for a new home.

This happened soon after I’d published my post looking for work and donations (thanks again to everyone who came through on that - several more rays of hope…) Nevertheless, I bumped AFP to the top of my list for a few days.

A few people started trickling in, making suggestions and airing complaints, noting that it was nice to see a somewhat civilized forum. To be honest, the first week or so was a little rough, but things have settled down.

If you compare us to most newspaper forums,we’re different, almost a Switzerland for members of other local forums. (You can’t stop people from visiting other websites. Why would you even want to do this?)

In any case, the last couple of months have been full of lessons and information I’d love to share.

Multi-layered:

As we move forward, I’m trying to recognize each part of the website for what it is. This is going to become more important as we progress, but I’m already trying to introduce the idea of a multi-layered site, with some features only being available to verified or trusted (and
eventually paid) members.

At this time, the main content breakdown looks like this:

• Stories: Only publishable by me at this point, but as we grow, and trust and a track record is established I hope to give this ability to other members of the community. This is a very weak part of the site at the moment (relying on press releases with a small
  mix of capturing events with photos, audio and video), but here there will be the most enforcement on comments. These are news stories and opinion pieces by people using their real names and a select few anonymous posters.
• Blogs: I’ve made blogs an invite only section to highlight people who have a good track record with forum posts or who have shown interest in elevating their ‘posts’ at AFP.
• Forums: This is the backroom of AFP. Even here, though, there are layers of acceptable behavior (that we’re still working out…)
• Comments: This is probably where the most work needs to be done at the site - somehow enforcing the rules more on the top content (news and real name opinion pieces) and letting the forums be a little more open.

Features they Love:

• Private Messages - I wish I had cash to drop on a developer to create a security conscious AJAX version of this, but we’re doing with what we have via Drupal at the moment. (I wish I woulda mentioned this to Morris Digital Works when they asked for a wishlist late last year. They (Yelvington in particular) should get a shout out (link out?) publicly for all they do for the Drupal community at large. They put some of the other big media companies using Drupal to shame, imho…) Anyway, people use these and I’ve had more than one say they love the feature. (I’m also looking closely at the Whisper module for Drupal…)
• Userpoints - Heh. This is something weird. I installed the module thinking it might be cool in the future for contests or something. Soon after people starting arriving, though, they started asking "what’s up with the points?" I told them they were worthless at the moment, but we began to talk about possible uses for the points system. Some say they don’t care about them (a few have mentioned they hate them), but the points system touches on something primal, I think. When I step back and look at it and think about it, I remember MUDs back in the day and MMO’s in today’s world. Just one more level. Just 10,000 more gold pieces. And that magic sword. Moving forward. Thanks to the great Drupal community, I’ve been given cool things like the ability for users to give other users points. So, not only do they get points for posting content (different amounts for different types of content - see above), they can also give points to other users as gifts or to acknowledge good posts, etc. Now, the system is clunky as all get out currently, but again, with no developers of my own, I wait for what’s being done via open source. Anyway, if you’re on the ball and want to make your site sticky in the good way, create a points system that awards participation and allows participants to reward each other.
• Creativity - Ok, this is something small, but something that still gives me a smile when I think about it. (Almost as good a smile as that middle corporate manager working her way up informed me I was on a list back at the glass tower.) While trying to replicate the feel of the forums that the users were accustomed to, I began playing on the MUD/MMO vibe. I went above and beyond for user ranks. You know what they are. You see them on some thriving communities. If you post X number of points you’re a certain level. Most websites pick one theme (usually the topic of their website) and run with that. So, on law enforcement sites you get patrolman, sergeant, lieutenant, major, etc. Well, for AFP, I have over 100 and counting. Some of them are silly. Some only locals will get. Some are injokes for current veterans on the site. Maybe I’m the only one getting a kick out of this, but it has other uses too, I think. Eventually I could have ‘real’ user ranks for different user roles on
  the site - a photographer badge, an editor badge, a moderator badge, etc.



• Customer Service - I’ve not yet met the man (hint, hint, nudge, nudge), but I must give props to Craig Newmark. Something he said or wrote somewhere stuck with me. It was about customer service, how important it is. I believe that and have been trying to interact with the community both publicly (in person and online) and privately (in person and online.) That’s not saying I implement every idea, but I try to listen to all of them. Quite a few have turned out to be good ideas. The thing is, being publicly visible and not having to worry about subscription numbers, customer service truly becomes about the customer and is chock full of service. And they’re eating it up. As I mentioned, this country is hungry for
  change. (Just witness the Ron Paul revolution happening online. Also note I know the guy who recently started that site, which is an interesting story in and of itself.) Oh, there are a lot more lessons, but I don’t want to take up too much of your time. ;)
• Smileys/Avatars - These might seem like inconsequential items for an online community unless you’ve spent any amount of time as a member of an online community. They play a small and subtle role in giving users the ability to effectively communicate with the tools we’re giving them, but they’re really important, imho.

Some of the Community:

• Mayor Buckwheat - Famous (or infamous, depending on who you talk to), anonymous poster at the Herald Bulletin forums who was so fed up with the local newspaper (sorry, CNHI) he started an email newsletter. Someone at Muncie Free Press passed the newsletter on to me, I believe, right around the time I was starting up AFP. (I’ll have to tell the whole story at J-Hope someday if enough people show up there and bug me to tell it…) I’m honored to know this person and
  appreciate the help he’s given with making AFP thrive recently.
• Education- Tobi Jones, President of Anderson Community School Corp. Board of Trustees is one person who showed up early. She posts in an unofficial capacity, but it’s great to have her there. I’ve been working with her to get video of the board meetings online. Beyond that, she’s been really helpful showing up to squash rumors and offer her views on various issues. She also listens. Education is important to a lot of parents out there and it’s wonderful to see AFP being used to discuss and debate ways to improve.
• Fire / Police / EMT
  - I have to admit to being fairly ignorant to a lot of these worlds, but I respect the people who work in these fields as public servants. (More on the need for journalists to remember to be public servants in the future…) I’m glad so many people in these fields are helping with and benefiting from AFP.
• Local Media Employees - Not saying much here, but we do have at least one ex-employee who is the person who implemented the original Herald Bulletin forums (and, it seems, knew me at BSU.) I can’t really say much more here…
• Citizens -In general, we have quite a range of users, I think. Too many fine people (from all walks of life and from a lot of professions) to list individually here, but they all know who they are. And I hope they know how much I appreciate them and what they do to make AFP what it is.

Witness and Represent: Ok, here’s the deal. AFP has (as of writing) a live, vibrant grassroots journalism focused community. No month old posts (tumbleweeds) or spammers dropping links, etc. No one’s really noticed yet, but it’s happening and it’s giving me my 12th wind.

• Scanner News 2008 - This thread is a miracle evolving as I speak. One or two of the EMTs on the site (I believe a poster going by ‘medic’ started a thread called Scanner News in which he posted events as they came over the scanner. Soon, others (including police and fire) began posting. Then, members of the community began posting both information and questions. A rumor or two has been squashed on the thread. I’ve since taken the idea and am posting a new thread each month to archive them. One of the side projects on this is replicating a 911 map like
  the Indy Star (You guys shoulda had someone Johnason or higher contact me. I mean, really. ;) has. This is in the very beginning stages (as I have a thousand things on my plate), but it’s something that’s possible, I think. We’re also currently working out how to verify that the people posting info are legit.
• Multi-state meet-up - The lady who originally emailed me on that fateful day in November, known in some online circles as Sippy, traveled from out of state to meet other members of her online family in person. I wasn’t able to make it (the dreaded Indiana crud), but a lot of people did show up. And they took pictures.
• Stringers- I wish I could pay these people (even with gift certificates), but even if I could I don’t think they would accept it at this time. I’ve had a handful of photographers for a while now, but a couple at AFP actively ask for assignments to practice their skills. Beyond that, I’ve had at least one person shell out their own money to purchase an audio recorder to tape the Anderson City Council meetings. (This is another full story on its own that will probably be in the book. ;)
• Restaurant Map - UGC is a vulgar term. It’s an establishment term just like Citizen Journalism, imho. One that should be thrown aside as we roll up our sleeves and take this movement to the next level. I see promise for it, though. I don’t remember how or who exactly, but someone asked for a place to post restaurant reviews. So, I added a few Drupal modules and came up with the Madison County Restaurant Reviews Map. Not a novel idea by any means, but here’s the thing. A few people stood up and populated the map on their own. It’s not 100% complete yet, but it’s another one of those small things that will blossom with a little money, resources, tending to it.
• Anderson Accomplishment Arch - Speaking of volunteers and organizing, this is a pet project I’m going to take on, I think. It may end in a failure, but I want to try. Long story short, Anderson has a monument outside city hall (the ‘Crystal Arch’ that was supposed to be funded by private donations. Well, the project was started before they had raised enough money. So, some city money was transferred and used to finish the project. From what I’ve heard, the foundation settled and caused leaks in the lights that made up the insides of the Arch. This caused water to leak into the lights and short out the whole system. I’ve also heard that the wrong lights were used, shorting out the system. I haven’t dug into it much yet, but here’s the idea I pitched the Mayor’s office - find private donations to fix the Arch. Instead of lighting it all up as originally did, program it so that the lights can be turned on one at a time. Then, when Anderson has a positive, light up one of the lights. As the Mayor’s term progresses, citizens could literally look and see the amount of progress in the city. Now, there are tons of details to work out, and a great many citizens hate the arch because of the story behind it, but my gut tells me that it would be a great way to show that you can turn a negative into a positive and symbolize the growth of Anderson, Indiana as a city. Hopefully it can turn into an example of the people of a small online community pulling together to accomplish a large (but very reachable) goal.
• [[Sidebar for below:]]
  • Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon Fox 59 Interview
  • B-Roll: Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon Fox 59 Interview
    • Video: Grassroots Journalism in the Midwest

  Watching the Watchers - I haven’t had a chance to talk with the Mayor since taking this (long, sad story about a car named Bessie), so I don’t know what he thinks of the end result, but he did mention he was impressed with what I’d been able to do on my own covering one of his press conferences a week or two earlier. On the first day he was in office, I received a few tips that something was going on, and I felt I had to show up. I’m glad I did. Once I got there and found out it wasn’t a press conference, but an interview, my heart sunk. Mayor Ockomon invited me back, though. I had a loaner camera and my audio. My intention wasn’t to prop up the Mayor or make Fox News look bad, but to show the public (if even only for a brief moment), how reality compares to the news they consume on television. It’s quite startling if you step back and think about it. Anyway, I hope I didn’t close any doors or upset anyone, but I know the people enjoyed and appreciated it. Another thing that started soon after the community formed was the Herald Bulletin Watch. The description is a slight jab at the publisher of the Herald Bulletin, Michael C. Casuscelli. (Yet another chapter for the book…) Maybe it’s my brash nature after being out here on the front lines in the trenches for so long, but I haven’t heard back from him on my offer for lunch to sit down and talk about how we can work together for the better of the community as a whole. If history is any indicator, their next step will be to ban me from advertising in their newspaper. (Yes, that really happened in Muncie with The Star Press.) We’ll see, I guess.

Coffers:: The coffers are still bare, but the sound of change dropping into them is pretty constant now. Not enough for me to be able to quit freelancing, but enough that it also gives me hope. The company I’ve been working with on sales in Muncie ( CityNFocus), is planning on starting to hit local advertisers in Madison County, Indiana.

There are, of course, all the other plans tied to revenue that I haven’t been able to implement yet, but I know they’re solid and will float when given some resources.

Until then, I listen to the sound of nickels and dimes and quarters drop into the tin can sitting outside my virtual office, and it’s like a drumbeat. I know it will
follow if I continue in the direction I’m going.

Parley:If you’re at all curious about the State of the Free Press Project or grassroots journalism in particular, in the spirit of Journalism as conversation, I invite you to stop by the site, register for an account, and talk to the community. Ask them what they think about AFP - what they like and what they dislike.

The AFP traffic numbers are still small, but the time on site and pages per visit are very healthy, evidence of a living, breathing almost 24 hour community based around a county sized geographical area.

If you spend any time on the site before joining the
conversation happening there, you’ll note that a lot of the posts are people blowing off steam or trying to spread a laugh or smile. We also have our fair share of bickering and troll attempts.

Overall, though, we’re gaining a reputation as a place where people can start an account with a blank slate and work their way up in the community.

There are a lot of things in the works this year as the conversation unfolds.

Risk and Rewards:The thing about a virtual battle, a rallying of the people online forming their own communities and learning how to work with the media for the better of the community (real and virtual) as a whole. The thing about this struggle, is that the frontline extends all across this country and the rest of the world as well. I’m not the only one out there. I’m even helping others step-up to the plate and go to bat for journalism in America. (More on this later too…)

Perhaps it’s already too late in the month for a post like this, but when Dave Cohn so graciously invited me to guest post at NewAssignment.net, I knew I needed something special. I hope by sharing some of this information that I help someone out there, either with a current site they have or as a push off the fence and into the game.

Ladies, gentleman, bloggers (small smile), the state of the Free Press Project is good. Don’t get me wrong. I’m still strapped for cash, working out of my apartment and without transportation at the moment, but the fire is alive and growing, spreading from person to person across East Central Indiana.

There’s a long way to go, and a short time to get there, but spring is coming. There’s excitement in the air. 

Part news, part opinion, part theatre, Anderson Free Press is journalism as conversation in action. IMHO.

Feel free to comment here or see you at AFP to continue this conversation.

image credits:

craig newmark classifieds - Journerdism:

Risk Board - Mike Tuesday (liquidtuesday)

Deliverance - Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Deliverance.jpg

Parley/Flag - Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pirate_Flag_of_Rack_Rackham.svg