newsonaut

Turning inner space into outer space

September 20, 2012

Hey, reporters, start your own news site

I sometimes wonder why more reporters don’t start up their own news sites. It wouldn’t have to be much more complicated than creating a blog. Do a good job, sell a few ads and you’ve gone indie. Meanwhile, the mainstream media are still chasing their tails, trying to figure out how to support their massive infrastructures.

A great profile by Michael Andersen for Nieman Journalism Lab shows how a married couple is making a go of it with the Ann Arbour Chronicle.

It’s one of the oddest local-news startups in the country, and one of the most idealistic. It’s also, Morgan and Askins say, bringing in $100,000 a year and growing by 16 percent annually.

Admittedly, $100,000 a year isn’t exactly making them rich, especially when you consider they have expenses. But you have to like those growth projections.