Bringing News and Information to Howard County
Today, I want to reach out to our reading population to answer the question, “why a news website for Howard County?
The actual answer is simple. We need one!
As far as I am aware, Howard County has never had a newspaper within its borders that specialized in investigative journalism. Without investigative journalists, a community may stumble upon the truth, but rarely is it rooted out. When voters place fellow citizens in important roles, who is actually watching the daily political grind? Who digs to discover why something smells fishy? We pay our taxes, assessments and fees with very little insight into what’s happening behind the scene.
While the Howard Courier is not presently offering investigative reporting, we have plans to do so. Actually, if you look at most of what we post online, you will find that the information comes from press releases. We’re transparent about that and we’re not ashamed of it either. Press releases are an excellent source of news. We hope that more organizations and individuals send us press releases. If they are accurate and well-written, our policy is to run them “as-is.”
However, over the past several months, building this entity from an offshoot of the Guilford Gazette, we have been increasing our original content. If you are a fan of either of our websites, you may have noticed that.
Just Another Dumb Idea
Establishing a news website dedicated to covering and uncovering news and events in Howard County is considered by most to be a wonderful and brave concept. True. I agree. However, as the creator and publisher, I know that bringing a news organization to Howard County is basically a dumb idea. There are reasons why the two newspapers here went out of print and why the new owners barely support the digital footprint. The reason has to do with cash, or the lack of it.
The Columbia Flier was free for decades. When the Baltimore Sun Group purchased the Flier and the Howard County Times, they were expecting to earn revenue. But with a readership that was not quite ready to actually pay for news, the Sun discovered that their investment was not the smartest move. Dumb.
So here I am investing in the community that I love with the full understanding that getting the fullest support necessary may be an uphill climb. So why do it? Well, it’s like the old Baltimore slogan, “BELIEVE.” I believe that at this point in time enough people in Howard County want to be informed. And with the right mix of marketing and old-fashioned coaxing and begging, we will be fully supported by the residents and businesses of Howard County. But I would be remiss if I did not bring God into this. My faith in God is much stronger in Him than in any earthly person, so I pray. I pray and I do the work. And I wait.
What’s Needed to Make This a Success
So what do we need? And what exactly is that prayer? I call it the 20-20-10 prayer because our calculations indicate in order to be truly successful, we need 20 paid subscribers (members) and 20 mobile app downloads per day. And we need 10,000 daily visitors to our websites. As for me, I will not slow down until we reach those objectives. If I did not believe we as a community could attain those objectives, I would not be engaged in this endeavor.
This news organization is looking to build a partnership with everyone in this county. We cannot get the news and information we deserve without the cooperation of everyone.
If readers visit our websites daily to get us to 10,000, we can easily sell advertising space to local merchants.
If our visitors buy the Howard Courier membership, we get the cash we need to hire reporters.
If our members and visitors download the mobile app, then we have easy access to those who want updates now.
As we reach our objectives, then our goals for bringing news to Howard County begin to be realized.
Not Partial, but Full News Coverage
We want full coverage of the western part of the county, but also the southeast and central parts. We desire to provide insights into multiple aspects of government, plus an accounting of what our elected officials are doing. What promises have they failed to keep? Where have they exceeded expectations?
We want to create a news and activity hub where residents and business owners come to the Howard Courier for all local news and information.
Above all, we want to connect, take your ideas and create this great virtual hang out that not only offers news and information, but lots of fun.
As for being dumb, I admit that I am guilty. But with a little good fortune, perhaps the Howard Courier will be among the success stories in America that before gaining credibility, they just looked like dumb ideas.
Sincerely,
Ricardo Whitaker
Publisher – Guilford Gazette and Howard Courier
