Since I started writing the Flossip, I have also been researching blogs of this type in general. Blogs of this type are collectively called “hyperlocal blogs.” In the broad category of hyperlocal blogs there are many, many different types of websites. On my links page, I keep a list of those that I like the best.
For example, the Shop Tart in Columbia is loads of awesomeness. Funny, quirky, light… and interesting. Life in Forsyth is also a great hyperlocal blog (and the inspiration for the Flossip). Both of these writers show their personalities and charm through their writing. I think a coffee date with the two of them would result in hours of hysterical laughter.
Some hyperlocal blogs think they are here to replace the news. Replace news stations, replace the paper… etc. I don’t see that ever happening– and I don’t want it to. I like the Morning News. I like the writers and editors– some of whom I have gotten to “know” through twitter and facebook since I started this blog. Also? They are really our only dedicated news outlet left. Everyone else is running to the beach and pretending they have Florence coverage.
You want coverage of the SF-WF Basketball game? To know why traffic was backed up for miles at Francis Marion? To see who lives in our community and what they are doing? The Morning News is your source for that kind of information. I think it is OUR job as a community to quit whining over a typo and help them be the best that they can be. Send them an email or a tweet when you see news happen. Discuss the stories. Link to their articles. These people actually care about Florence. Subscribe.
This isn’t an advertisement. This is a reminder that without them, we will lose an integral part of our community. For everyone that complains about the news? Take a second and think about the kind of loser town that doesn’t EVEN HAVE A PAPER. I’m not being dramatic here… look at the news. Ads are down, Media General had layoffs already, publishers are filing Chapter 11. I can’t imagine we are going to be getting free online content from any news source much longer. Giving their product away free makes no sense to me, I imagine it will become “subscriber only” at some point for all papers.
SO…. what can we do to help our community continue to support a newspaper? Its easy. I’m asking that you make ONE simple New Years Resolution. Subscribe to the paper– even if it is just Thursday through Sunday. (You can easily accomplish this online.) I keep asking everyone to support local merchants, and have overlooked one of the most important local merchants that we have.
I just finalized my own subscription. I wouldn’t ask you to do it if I did not do it myself.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter Comment
Thanks for the shout, @flossip! [link to post]
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Publishers will need to look for new ways to monetize their content going forward. These companies should take note of what affiliate marketers have been doing for over a decade: Provide sponsored content and drill down to find out how they can market themselves to partners, advertisers, and customers.
Who is your customer? Who is your competitor? Are your marketing efforts measurable?
I’m not saying, “Don’t support these companies”. I’m saying, “Companies should know what their customers want and provide that “want” to the best of their ability. Otherwise their customer base will move on to the next company who is willing to listen to the consumer and take action accordingly.”
PS. I will admit I don’t read the paper but we are subscribed because of the coupons my wife likes. I do read the online versions by way of RSS feed though…
I love The Shop Tart, too! I check the Flossip, the Shop Tart, and Collin Smith’s blog everyday! And, of course, Facebook. Thanks for the nudge to subscribe to the Morning News–I think I’ll do that now.
There has to be a better way, I don’t want a dead tree! I love my RSS feeds in google reader; the only time i have ever gotten a paper is on sunday and even then i’d rather just have the coupon booklet. They need a better business model; maybe a really good website ala craigs list with a local focus. Local Ad Driven
I have quite a bit of family in the Florence area, and wrote for a large paper (Dallas Morning News) until I retired, and can tell you the coverage in the Florence Morning News is CRAP.
Got it. C-R-A-P.
Not only does “real news” get buried inside the A section, but there is hardly any good that graces the front page. And don’t get me started on http://www.scnow.com. The Web site (if you call it that) is a testament to how the paper really is only concerned about the bottom line and not the interest of its readers since I can find more ads than news on the site.
Yeah, I like newspapers (I worked for one for nearly 15 years) but if the News wants new subscribers they need to do a better job covering things that matter in the city, for example: More research on the city’s OUTRAGEOUS crime rate, maybe a series on the school bond project, rather than some press release re-write from Florence School District 1, pressuring politicians about high unemployment rate, and what they are trying to do to fix it, and placing less focus on misdemeanor crimes and really writing crime stories that have some kind of human element to them; really finding out who these people are and how the crime has affected the neighborhood.
Until the reporters, editors and publishers of this publication can figure that out, then the paper will die, and deserves to DIE.
My parents and grandparents canceled their subscription two weeks ago, because they hated how the reporters covered news in FLORENCE! They missed important details, background…everything.
It’s a decision I supported.
Focusing on the bottom line, worrying about whether your advertisers will like a story or not, is no way to run a paper.
Until that climate changes at the News, you’re absolutely right Flossip, the city of Florence will not have a newspaper to chronicle the lives and news in one of South Carolina’s largest cities.
hey James T & everyone else…
have you looked at it lately?
I will 100% agree that the Flo Mo was the worst paper for years & years- I always wanted a better paper & bought the State when I could- the things that bothered me the most in the Florence Morning News were the misspellings & grammatical errors-
But I have to say they got a new editor this year & I have seen HUGE improvements- enough that we started a 7 day subscription-
The spellings & the errors got SO much better… I find very few errors now..
and the staff as a whole has improved, I think… the morale has been boosted, or something- because they are all writing better…
One thing about the new editor- James Bennett- he is open to your suggestions- so seriously, send him a note/ email- he’ll respond.. I don’t know him personally, but have had him answer 2 emails I sent him- within a day of sending them…
He’s made a lot of changes & will continue to make them..
I think a lot of times the paper focuses on what they think their readership wants to read.. you can get crime rate info from the nightly news- but I think the Flo Mo News has a nice human touch..
And the editorial staff does a much better job of writing from both sides.. I am a hard core liberal myself, and moved back here after living in ATlanta for 12 years- moved back 5 years ago- I was worried I would hate the editorials in the paper- but I don’t… they are always well written.. especially since Bennet came on board- just my opinion though…
Point of my message is if you had your mind made up awhile back- I agree it was C-R-A-P at one point.. but things are alot better!!
And I will say that even when it was C-R-A-P- it was journalists covering local news & doing the best they could with it…
just my two cents…
thanks Flossip!!
Does anyone commenting here even realize that there are currently only two or three reporters covering the seven county area known as the Pee Dee? If you want better news, then give them the community support needed (via subscribing) to add more and better reporters. The editing had improved a long time ago, but no one bothered to realize it until James came to the paper. And now he’s getting all the kudos that belong to not only him, but to Jackie, Kim, Traci, Robert, Michael and last but most certainly not least, the fantastic former editor, Harry Logan. No offense intended towards James, he was a great boss for the short time I was there with him, but there are a great number of people putting a lot of time into producing the dwindling paper you see now. And with people like James T. up there being critical, rather than lending a helping hand to keep the only news organization in Florence afloat, it might just dwindle away to nothing. And yes, I am proud to say until this past June, I was a reporter at the Florence Morning News. And I loved every minute of it – out in the community, meeting the people who make Florence what it is. Phooey to people who can’t see the forest for the trees. Thanks for the FloMo shout out, Flossip!!
Jamie- I thikn you’re absolutely right… I should have given kudos to more than just the new editor… I have just been surprised by his willingness to accept feedback- when I had emailed the old editor about something, I did not receive the same kind of response- but I’m sure it’s becuase of what you say- a few people are very overworked to get this great paper out…
We should be grateful to have a local paper & I iwll continue to support it…
I didn’t mean my comments about the paper years ago to sound harsh… I just mainly wanted to point out I thought it had improved from the time I left Florence (1992) to now…
I hope that before the paper really goes away, they let the public know what they need to stay afloat…
it seems the internet is where poeple turn to news- but I have been disappointed with national news sights lately- going very pop culture with the news… one thing I think the FloMo does a good job avoiding…
Address: 952 Barrentine Drive , Lake View, SC 29563 Tel: 759-2140 . I tried to call to report a missed delivery this morning & held for over ten minutes. This makes the second missed delivery this month. We have been subscribers for many years & look forward to getting our paper. Is our regular carrier no longer with you? Thank you for your attention to this matter. Miriam Marshall