Which is a pretty cool name for a newspaper, especially one that strives to “bridge the gap between big media coverage and blogs.” Which you will do how exactly, Matt?
Well, here are some friendly ideas:
1. Be like the Portland Sentinel. Put your content online before you print. Of course, hold some big feature stuff back for the print edition, but since the paper is only coming out “fortnightly,” (links to pdf) you can keep stuff rolling by putting it online. The Sentinel calls itself a “neighborhood news forum,” which totally embraces the bloggy spirit of the organization
2. Nice name, now you need a killer logo. The paper is sort of plane Jane right now.
I’m thinking of something along the lines of the logo used by Andrew Rasiej when he ran for public advocate in NYC a few years back.
Which was of course based on the old TVA logo.
3. Bring in voices from across the blogosphere. I was thinking of something a few months back, putting together a local blog digest. Taking what stuff I could pull from Olyblog, Jim Anderson’s various efforts and other locally focussed blogs and putting it in a downloadable pdf. Maybe someone would run off copies and leave them around town.
I never got around to it, but it seemed like a good way to bridge the gap between the local blogosphere and folks that want a printed piece to hold on to.
4. Super happy someone is picking up this project. Ever since the Sitting Duck (which I had no love for anyway) left, there’s been a need for something like this. Glad is seems pointed in the right direction too.
Thanks for the plug, Emmett.
Yes, we are intrigued by the idea of printing the best stuff from local blogs. That may be a way to share interesting postings with people who won't look for the blog site, but will see a paper laying in a coffeeshop or bar. Are you interested in helping pull that together?
On a related note, we will have a website, but we are not emphasizing it, and are not planning to pre-post material. (Maybe you can convince us to change that someday.) The reason is that there are, indeed, plenty of good blogs, so we are focusing on the actual paper.
And we'll work on the logo for ya. You're right that the name harkens back to the industrial/utility concept, but we haven't found a graphic that displays that without looking cheesy. Send us your ideas.
The first issue comes out Wednesday, December 2. Thanks again.
Glad to see a new publication for Olympia. Even though I no longer live in Olympia, and certainly have no right of consideration when it comes to an opinion, if the city council is any trendsetter here, I do think Olympia deserves a cutting edge publication that reflects both the staid and the hip that is the paradox of Washington's capital "town."
Anyone remember "Impact News," which had some hard-hitting journalism in the day? And what was the name of its predecessor, that classic short-lived professional publication of Steve Salmi's which cut its own throat when it ran one of the best articles I've ever read too early in its history entitled "In Search of Lacey's soul" (concluding that it was in the Fred Meyer parking lot), certainly ahead of its time and a precursor for the Lacey Sucks t-shirts 15 years later …
I would second Emmett's suggestion to run some copy first online with ample opportunity for comment, perhaps expanding the partnership already developed with Everyday Olympia.
If Olympia Power & Light wants to truly realize the potential of its premise, then it will fully take advantage of incredible opportunities that "new media" affords. Print is now the secondary form of communication, not the primary and, seriously dude, this is Olympia, home of K Records, the Procession, and loads of creative energy … and this from an old print guy. So if this was mine, which thank god it is not, I would go as cutting edge as I could … but skip the kinky sex column … and make it all about the people of Olympia with the politics thrown in, or rather, try to tell that from a human perspective.
Hmm, internships for multimedia production from Evergreen perhaps? I mean, damn, the possibilities, and think of all the great content you could host that could break the confinements of print space! Podcasts, soundslides, photo essays, etc …
Seriously, wishing you all the best Matt. You are doing a good thing. I hope you make it place for all voices and sidestep the pitfalls of the bunker and the mouthpiece …
p.s. Uhhhmmm, Matt Green and Olympia Power & Light, I would place this comment on your site over at everyday oly but, yeah, there is no place to comment that I can find … bummer … a gmail account? really? hmmm …
I think many, many people want you to succeed and support this effort, so I know you guys are going to step up :))
all the best …