New Bern Now is the only local independently owned newsroom in the greater New Bern area, free from corporate or political influence. With that comes a great responsibility to readers and the community at large — to take time to research, request and obtain public records, interview people, vet information, write and share it with readers. Our job is to provide news and information so people can make important decisions about things that impact their daily lives.
The “local news is free” concept is not a business model. It’s not sustainable as we cannot continue operations without support from the community. If a small percentage of readers paid a monthly subscription or one time contribution, we could hire enough people to run a newsroom. We could print a newspaper chock full of community news and information on a regular basis.
It’s not a matter of knowing how to do things. We’ve been doing this for 14 years. We created and published a magazine for ten years and produced a podcast/radio show for eight years. It takes a team of people to produce a variety of news that represents the community at large and manage online operations. With funding, NBN could do it all.
Some people have asked, if we did it before, why can’t we do it now? Yours truly, Wendy Card, was the solo operator. I poured any revenue back into the business, never paying myself. Hurricane Florence hit, then the pandemic. Life changed. The local news ecosystem changed as the legacy newspaper’s newsroom was gutted and investigative reporting fell by the wayside. NBN decided it was necessary to conduct in-depth and investigative reporting.
We are working on a number of stories, but it takes time. Since we don’t have the money to hire people to update NewBernNow.com, manage social media and conduct daily operations, we are taking time to produce news. We will publish it on an as needed basis unless things change. Our work depends on readers.
If you’ve received the news email for free for the last year, today is the last time you’ll receive it unless you become a paid subscriber or contributor.
NBN appreciates readers who have helped us by becoming a monthly subscriber or contributor. If for some reason you don’t receive the email and have paid, please send an email.
Thank you for considering helping NBN continue to provide in-depth, reporting and conducting investigative journalism. Make a one time or monthly contribution by clicking here or below. Or send a check to NC Life Media, LLC, P.O. Box 13614, New Bern, NC, 28561.
By Wendy Card, owner
Related article: https://newbernnow.com/2023/07/after-14-years-new-bern-now-on-the-brink-needs-community-to-support-local-journalism.html