By Bob Brown, editor
The CVPost
During my 20 years as a reporter, editor and columnist for the Leader-Telegram in Eau Claire, the newspaper industry was just beginning the painful process of adapting to the new reality of a digital world.
When I entered the L-T newsroom in April 1981, there were more than 30 journalists on staff and only four computer monitors in the newsroom; the clacking of IBM Selectric typewriters, mixed with the shouts of reporters and editors as the morning deadline approached, created a raucous din.
When I quietly departed the L-T in July 2001, reporters had their own computer workstations, the World Wide Web was 10 years old, and the social media explosion of Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and the rest was just around the corner. The Internet was moving inexorably toward becoming the information behemoth it is today – and journalism as I had come to know it was in its final throes.
Today, the new reality of where the digital world is headed remains unclear, but what is certain is that the means of communicating with the masses will grow ever more diffuse. And that means the challenges to journalism – indeed debates over the very definition of that term – also will increase.
No longer is journalism tied to the printing press or the broadcast transmitter. Computers, cell phones and other digital technology allow individuals or groups to widely and relatively easily communicate endless streams of information around town and around the world.
What you see before you today is a new entry into that digital world – an outlet for local, web-based journalism we call the Chippewa Valley Post.
Since its launch on Feb. 2, the CVPost has proudly touted as its slogan “community supported journalism.” With apologies to Abraham Lincoln, what we hope the CVPost grows into is a source of locally focused journalism “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
The dedicated people who have served on our board of directors over the past three years of planning share a vision of the CVPost adding a vital new voice that will supplement – not compete with – news media already serving Chippewa Valley communities.
Those traditional sources of news – both in the Chippewa Valley and across the nation – already have plenty of competition from Internet-based information sources. The resulting loss of readers, viewers and advertising dollars has forced traditional media outlets into painful cutbacks in the size of their staffs and the amount of content they provide.
The goal of the CVPost is to help fill the resultant gap in the provision of local news. As such we strive to provide information about aspects of Chippewa Valley communities that are interesting and important, but go unreported or underreported.
In so doing, we aim to inform, engage and connect: inform Chippewa Valley residents about individuals and issues in their communities; engage residents in an appreciation of those individuals and a civil, civic dialogue of those issues; and connect residents with those individuals and those communities with one another.
One key focus of the CVPost is to seek out untold stories among the Chippewa Valley’s many nonprofit agencies. We will explore the needs these organizations try to meet and the human-interest stories amongst those they serve.
A broader focus than that is to seek out and report on the many interesting people – perhaps even you or someone you know – who in endless ways contribute to making the Chippewa Valley a wonderful place to live.
These are but a few of the lofty goals we at the CVPost hope to achieve in the coming months and years. But this will only happen if Chippewa Valley residents step forward to help us fulfill our slogan – “community supported journalism.”
As a nonprofit community news website, the CVPost is run strictly by volunteers, though we hope to attract enough financial support – via sponsorships/underwriting, donations/grants and memberships – to eventually allow for the hiring of a few key staff members. But even then, we will rely on community members to ensure that the CVPost becomes the important community asset we are confident it can be.
You can help us achieve that goal by contributing your time and talents in any of a myriad of important ways:
- You can serve as a “community journalist,” someone who will be a writer/reporter, photographer, videographer or copy editor. We have several former professional journalists, myself included, committed to training and mentoring you in any of these capacities:
- You can provide technical assistance in maintaining and further developing the CVPost
- You can solicit sponsorships, memberships and underwriters.
- You can help to promote the CVPost in the communities we serve.
- You can help to provide bookkeeping, scheduling and/or other office-related services that are critical to the proper functioning of any business.
Of course, you also can contribute financially by becoming a CVPost member, a sponsor or an underwriter, or by making a donation.
Finally, you can contribute by being a frequent visitor to the CVPost website. Tell us what you like and what you would like to see added or changed. Send us your ideas for interesting stories we should cover. Tell your family and friends to check out the website for themselves.
In whatever way you choose to contribute, the CVPost welcomes and appreciates you. We are trying to develop this website into a source of local news that is welcome in your home and appreciated by you and your community.