Review of "The Book on Paul LePage"

This story was insanely detailed and reported.  I, as the reader, really got a sense for the governor's personality and policies.  Each chapter covered a different aspect of LePage's policies and how he and his opponents view those policies.  I felt like it portrayed many different aspects of LePage and his life and I got to see how different people thought of him.  At no point did I know exactly what Christie's opinion of LePage was, which absolutely goes along with their vision statement of "looking beneath the surface of Maine government and writing clearly and without fear or favor about what it discovers".  I was kind of wondering how Christie got the word out about Pine Tree Watchdog.  Obviously it is not always easy getting in touch with politicians, so how did he get the word out about his publication so these politicians knew who he was writing for and visions regarding journalism etc.

Questions for John...

• How did you come up with the idea for Pine Tree Watchdog?  Was there a certain moment where you went, "ah-ha, this is what we need"?
• How did you go about creating and reporting once the idea was formed? Was it a one man show for a while or did you have people hop on board immediately?
• What challenges did you face when starting this site?
• If you could go back and change one thing about your process in starting this company, what would it be and why?
• What is your business model and why did you choose that?
• Do you have any suggestions for us, as aspiring journalists and entrepreneurs?
• How did you come up with the different sections? Why did you choose them?
• How did you find your staff writers?
• How did you make money when you first started and how are you continuing to make money now?

Mission and Vision Statements

Mission: At Choice News we aim to provide the audience with a unique, fun, interactive and insightful news experience.  It is our hope that our audience will not only skim the headlines but become invested in the story telling and critically think about what decisions have been made throughout the years.

Vision: Choice News will provide accurate, clearly written pieces without favor for one side or the other.  Our reporting will be critical, insightful and timely while also conveying a sense of adventure and fun that comes with a choose your own adventure story format.

Pine Tree Watchdog

I think this concept is really interesting.  I have always been interested in investigative reporting so to see it done on such a local scale is awesome.  I think if i lived in Maine I would frequently visit this site for updates and news.  The next thing I noticed was the variety of news on this site.  They cover everything from the environment to elections.  Some of the most recent stories have to do with Governor Paul LePage and how people perceive their governor.  One thing I was wondering was how they decided what to cover.  Obviously the people creating this site saw a need for coverage about veterans and climate change but I was just wondering how they narrowed it down.  Also, something else that I noticed: I really liked the "donate" button.  On articles there is a little counter that tracks how much money has been raised for the non-profit, the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting.  If you share the story, they donate a dollar.  I thought this was a really cool concept for raising money for non-profits because all you have to do is share the story and feel like a superhero!

Response to Terry Williams

I really enjoyed Terry's visit.  I thought it was interesting, informative and Terry was a pretty good guy to talk to anyway.  Something that really stuck with me was what Terry was saying about what he looks for in new hires.  He said he looks for people who can use social media, take video, take photos and break news.  Basically, it looks like I'm going to have to figure out technology sooner or later!  I also liked what he was saying about The Conway Daily Sun and how they choose to release less papers than they could to keep demand up.  I just thought this was such a smart idea and I would love to harness this idea some how and make it relate to my project idea somehow.  Hmmmm, something to think about!

Forbes Article

OK, first thing I noticed when I went to the site to read this article was that there was a page you had to pass before actually reading the article.  The page was essentially all advertisements but it made me think about ways this site makes money.  That was comment number 1, now on to the actual content of the article.  The article essentially just reiterated what Meg and Terry were saying for the past two weeks: as journalists we need to understand a whole lot more than we used to in order to succeed.  Something I really liked about this article was how it laid out a bunch of different kinds of advertisement for the reader to understand.  It made the whole idea of advertisements a lot easier to understand the different ways to advertise.  We have talked about some of these types of advertisement in class (e.g. native advertising) but it was nice to have a detailed description for all the different options offered to entrepreneurs.

Comments on Pitches

In last weeks' blogs I commented on "The Source" and "Focused Fencing".  So, here are my comments on the rest!

The Gamer's Gazette: I think this is a really neat idea.  A lot of people love video games and I think this could be a way to promote involvement with the news as well.  I was wondering how much money you though you needed to get started as well as if you had thought of using events to make money?  You could sponsor scavenger hunts or 5K runs or something like that to go along with the whole adventure/video game theme.

Exploring New Hampshire, Discovering Asia: I think you definitely found a niche subject area that works really well for you.  I also think it is interesting that you don't want a paid subscription.  I love it, I think you can pull in a lot of consumers that way.  One question I had was: what will your advertising look like and how exactly will you make money from it?

Well Now: I think your target audience will really enjoy something like this.  I know I like to read up on articles to help me be my best self and make myself healthier so I think that this could be something a lot of people can relate to.  I was wondering if you could partner yourself with local health food stores or something like that to promote your business as well as the local businesses in your area.  It could be a good way to get the word out right when you're starting!

News in Comics:  This is a really fun idea!  I was wondering though, is the 100K specifically to get you started or will you make money some other way?  Once your company is started and you have spent the 100K how do you plan to make money?  Just something I was wondering!  Overall, great, creative idea!

Unblocked Writers: Really innovative idea, I would for sure use this!  You mentioned interactive advertising in your pitch.  What would that look like?  Would it be online or, like, handing things out to people? I just wasn't sure!

See the News:  Great idea, I love the idea of a mobile app, it's very technologically savvy of you.  How much would it cost for users?  I'm just thinking people might not want to pay for a subscription and for the mobile app if it's too much.  Overall though, I love the idea.  Did you see the recent article about the man who documented his wife's struggle with cancer? It was so powerful and I think your idea will hit home with a lot of people!

The New Stand: Cute and clever idea!  I think it's a great way to harness the age of technology while also promoting the "traditional" news outlets.  I also think your business model could work really well but do you have an idea of how much it will cost to run your company just so you could predict how much you would need to make off advertisements? It's a bit of an in depth question but I was just wondering!