Dear Readers,
At New Bern Now, we are committed to providing you with the latest news, events, and information about New Bern and surrounding communities. We appreciate your loyalty and engagement, and we want to ensure that we can continue to deliver valuable content. We are an independent local news and information source, free from external influence, but we can’t do it alone. Our local news initiative depends on your support.
Two years ago, I learned New Bern was identified as a news desert and changed course on how New Bern Now would move forward in order to cover important issues that impact our community. For years, elected officials and others with influence were not held accountable for decisions made that benefited a select few or groups of people, not the public. Residents were not aware because local news outlets did not report key issues that affect their lives.
Prior to that, the goal was to promote the community for 12 years, mostly free of charge. Any advertising money was used to print a magazine. The goal was to help small business owners, nonprofit organizations and others spread their message. The goal has shifted from providing free publicity to providing high-quality news and information that truly matters to our community. If you’re looking to advertise, we offer various affordable options to help you reach a large and engaged audience.
In December, we published the first Navigator newspaper as an additional way for people to consume news as we already had audio, video, and digital options.
Now, it’s time to make NBN sustainable. I’m grateful that Becky and Todd Wetherington, as well as Nicole Kirch, joined me a couple of months ago to establish a small newsroom. The most recent issue of the Navigator was printed in March, and we’re eager to move forward with our next edition. But, to do so, we need the support of our community.
Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, along with Craigslist, disrupted the local news industry by taking advertising dollars away from newsrooms and profit major corporations, instead of keeping money local. Meanwhile, large corporations have been buying out independent newspapers. This has led to gutting newsrooms, and the few reporters left have been bound by hard rules “not to rock the boat” and report on politically correct stories.
Although nobody has come up with a solution to fund local journalism, I believe that if people become sustainable subscribers, we can pull New Bern out of the news desert. Together, we can provide information that is free from influence and keep our community informed.
We understand that there are many sources of information out there, but by supporting New Bern Now, you can be sure that you are contributing to a trusted and valuable resource for our community.
Our readership continues to grow, as NewBernNow.com receives over 59,500+/- pageviews per month. We also have a large multimedia presence that reaches thousands of people monthly. If you find value in the information New Bern Now provides, we invite you to support us by making a one-time or recurring monthly contribution in the amount of your choosing. Your contribution will help us to continue to produce high-quality content and support our local community. It will also enable us to expand our coverage and bring you even more news, events, and information about New Bern.
Whether you’re a small business owner, a nonprofit organization, or simply someone who cares about keeping residents informed, we welcome your support. Together, we can pull New Bern out of the news desert and ensure everyone has access to the information needed to stay connected and prosper.
Subscribe below or send a check made payable to NC Life Media, LLC, P.O. Box 13614, New Bern, NC 28561.
Send an email with questions or comments.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Wendy Card, owner, co-editor