Transparency in government begins with good journalism.
One path to transparency in government is good and in-depth news reporting. Without a free press doing its job, well, you can expect a lot of cloak and dagger behavior.
The Howard Courier is not in place to play political games. We’re here to seek truth and report on it. We may get it wrong on occasion, but we’re not so full of pride that we cannot admit mistakes and make corrections.
Holding Politicians Accountable
What we do is not only about holding politicians accountable. We are here to share good news about the accomplishments of the winners in our community. We are also here to tell you about the fun events in Howard County.
We are working. In 2024 we started with one freelance reporter. Now we have three who produce good copy on a regular basis. We have several more who contribute on occasion; and still more waiting in the wings to join us in the spring and summer.
Total News Coverage for the Entire County
We have a plan to cover every community. We started with Wilde Lake and then added Oakland Mills and Dorsey’s Search. Next month we hope to add Harper’s Choice. One step at a time as we move to the farthest point of western Howard.
Along the way, we had and still have technical glitches to our website. There are so many moving parts and so little time devoted to babysitting this beast. Oh, how I long for the past when a newspaper was just that — paper!
Some of our elected officials are less than cooperative when it comes to sharing information. Well, that’s not big news. We expect that. The problem is that we’re still small and lacking to resources to push as hard as we need to push.
What’s Holding Back Quality Journalism?
We want to bring to Howard County, the best and most extensive news and information reporting that this county has ever seen. There is truly only one factor that slows us. That factor is money.
The total support of this community is absolutely required for us to succeed. The old days of big money advertisers are gone. We must have three-fold support. Two out of three comes from our readers. We desperately need paid subscribers. The best deal is the annual membership. For only $45 web visitors gain access to every article. For the past week, every article has been free due to a technological glitch. We decided to open all articles until repairs are made. After this week, many of our premium articles will be available to members only.
A Free Press does not mean Free News
We would love to make everything free, but that’s just not possible. We need to pay our writers, photographers and our service providers.
The second factor involves visits to the website. We ask all of our supporters, whether paid members or not, to visit HowardCourier.com at least once daily. It is a small ask, but it helps our profile rise on internet browsers such as Google and it makes us more attractive to our future advertisers.
When you help us to grow by subscribing and visiting you help create longevity for this enterprise. Don’t you just hate it when your favorite retailer or newspaper disappears? I do. We need your continued support.
Advertising Revenue — Not what it used to be
The last factor is advertising. At the present time, we run Google ads, which provides a small pittance if we’re lucky. However, our revenue grows with Google when our web traffic swells. And swelling traffic puts us in the best position when we begin offering paid advertising space to local businesses.
We are looking to connect with our readers more. We’re also looking for help from our readers. Won’t you visit regularly and subscribe?
– Ricardo Whitaker (Publisher, Howard Courier & Guilford Gazette)
Publisher’s Note: Maryland Newspapers LLC looks forward to providing regular coverage of news and events in Howard County, Maryland. Please support that effort by visiting HowardCourier.com daily, uploading our mobile app, and subscribing, if finances permit.
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