This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Recently, a slew of stories has come out about an allegedly mentally ill woman pulling a gun on a squirrel outside of a local coffee shop.
The Longmont Observer intentionally did not write a story on this because of the obvious click bait nature of the headlines we were seeing, such as this, this, this, this, and this. The importance of this event is relatively minor, as crime events go.
The Longmont Observer's focus is on facts and Local News that's relevant to our day to day lives. We do the best we can with very limited resources. We've only been publishing since May 2017 and our 100% volunteer/unpaid staff donate their personal time and, for as long as we can, our own money, everyday, to cover government, education, business and entertainment in our town. This does include crime, but, with such limited resources, we try to focus on things that affect us all.
Sensational stories that produce 'clicks' that drive more attention to a site in order to sell more advertising isn't our goal. We believe the for-profit local news model is slowly dying. We created the Longmont Observer to address a community need for restoring a local media entity that was created by and for the residents of our city. We are motivated by the needs of those whom live in Longmont, not a distant corporation or hedge fund primarily interested in pulling as much money as possible for as little effort as possible out of another market.
Don't get us wrong- we understand the need for a business model and to "pay your way." We would love the community of Longmont to show your support for the Longmont Observer with contributions of a few dollars a month. Although currently 100% volunteer, we know we'll need to be able to pay a small, core staff of people supported by a cadre of volunteers.
The current for-profit newspaper in Longmont has, by what we can tell, about 2-4 people working on Longmont news. They're taking about $1.5 million to $2 million dollars a year out of our local economy in subscription and advertising dollars. That money does not stay local, it goes to New York City to a hedge fund, which owns the current for-profit newspaper.
The old model for-profit newspapers of yesteryear trend in two directions. One, they consolidate until they are one paper covering a large area. There is talk of a 'Boulder County' newspaper, in which Longmont would only have a small section, among many other small sections. The timeline for this could be as soon as 3-5 years. Two, they simply close down, as hundreds have done across the U.S. in the last 10 years.
We pose these questions to you, our Longmont community: Is this where you want your money to go? Is this how you want to read your local news?
If you would like to see the Longmont Observer become the kind of locally based, locally focused, non-profit, non-partisan news and information source for our town, we ask you to lend us a helping hand.
There are several ways you can do that:
- You can donate to the Longmont Observer. Donations to us can be written off your federal taxes. Your donation options include:
- A monthly donation ranging from $3- no maximum donation limit
- A one-time amount ranging from $1- no maximum donation limit
- All donations are 100% tax deductible because we're a 501(c)3 non-profit charity. We're also located at TinkerMill, which is in one of the State of Colorado's 10 Enterprise Zones, so your contribution may be eligible for a Colorado State Tax credit as well.
- If you're a local business or philanthropist, you can become a Longmont Observer Sponsor. We keep a list of all of our sponsors and donors. We have several sponsorship packages available. If you are interested in promoting your business, alongside local news in the Longmont Observer, please refer to our sponsorship page.
- You can volunteer. We always need more writers, photographers, videographers, editors, fundraisers, grant writers and just general involvement. We're a community-driven entity and you, literally, own us. There is no monetary equity to claim here, just the people and the information we create for our city.
- You can tell your friends about us. You can read the Longmont Observer every day and continue to tell us what you want to see from the Observer. Email us at contactus@longmontobserverorg. We love hearing from you. We are located in Longmont with an office at TinkerMill. We have a regular, open to the public, editorial meeting every day at 10 a.m. at TinkerMill, the Longmont Makerspace, in the main conference room. We invite you to join our meetings to contribute, share your thoughts, or simply to observe.
We appreciate the support that the City of Longmont has already given to us. We are passionate about providing our community with current, local news. In order to continue and to grow, we need the support and help of all of you.
