BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS OWNER/FOUNDER
About eight years ago a friend gave me a booked called “The Prayer of Jabez.”
In essence, it explains how to ask God to expand your territory, to give you more responsibility to do some good in the world. That was my take on it, anyhow. I read it, and I began praying the prayer.
Sometimes God answers prayers with an affirmative Yes!
About a year later I was fed up with corporate media, their lack of facts, their opinionated news articles and quite frankly how they treat their staff. So, I decided to get out of the business, preparing to retire to a life of leisure. Too many news outlets instigate rather than investigate. I was over it.
At that point, I had been working for newspapers for 30 years or so.
That so-called retirement lasted about a week.
So, I thought to myself, “Self, why don’t you try this Facebook thing, have a blog, write a column or two once in a while, maybe do a happy little feature on a Mom and Pop business, etc. Happy Stuff.”
I created the page, and by the end of the day we had 500 likes. And then we reached 1,000, and so on, and today we have 40,000 likes and followers on Facebook alone. What was I thinking? Over time we have created the www.elmoreautauganews.com website as well.
This hobby rapidly became a job, but even today I do not take a paycheck. And, I am OK with that. As long as our employees get paid, the bills are paid, it suits me fine. I mean, I was planning on retiring anyway.
We have exploded, and numbers recently prove to me my theory was correct. Keep it local. Keep it simple. Stay out of politics. Don’t spread rumors or inuendo. If people want to read world news, or even national news, there are much bigger news outlets out there who have a full staff, and even vehicles with the company logo on the door.
Keep it local. Keep it simple.
Above all, keep opinions out of any news article. I do not believe in endorsing candidates for any political office. I believe in presenting all five sides to any story, and letting our readers sort it out. This should not be a novel concept.
I just wanted to take a minute to say Thank You to our readers and our advertisers.
I don’t even mind when you call me out on an error. In fact, I appreciate it. We don’t have a copy editor on staff, and I promise you I can make a goof. I need all the eyes and ears out there, not just to catch mistakes, but to send me a text, an email or a message about something newsworthy.
I often say, “The bad news comes uninvited. It takes a lot of work to find the good news. But the bad news gets more press.”
And that is true. But I want more of the good news. I wish more churches, schools and civic organizations submitted their information and articles. Thank you to the ones which do! And if you are not, why not? Since we went all digital, I will never tell you “I cannot fit it in the paper this week.”
We have had a rough time here lately with our staff members dealing with horrendous loss of a family member, health issues and we all know what Covid brought. Right now, I am down at least two writers, and that means the majority of stories fall on me. I NEED WRITERS! More on that in a minute.
Just with the submissions every day, I could hire a full-time person. If all they did, was go through press releases, respond to questions and search through posts that are shareworthy, it is a full-time, 7-day a week job.
So, I really appreciate more than anyone knows the news tips, the tags on posts, the texts and phone calls from our readers that start with “What is going on at such and such” or “Have you seen this?”
I NEED MORE WRITERS.
Usually when trying to entice freelancers I say I am happy to teach you as long as you have a good base of grammar knowledge. And I stand by that.
But I do have some very particular needs right now. It is impossible to cover all of the public meetings when we cover two counties where I am the only full-time writer, and right now only two active but part-time freelancers.
Public meetings are an entirely different animal than attending a fun event and snapping photos.
So here is what I would love. At least two writers with some type of experience that can weed through public meetings, get a basic understanding of what is on the agenda. Ask questions afterward, make contacts. Being shy or anxious in this business will not work. At all. Investigate every story. My Motto – I would rather be second and correct.
But I still need people who have decent photography skills that can attend happy events and functions, snap lots of photos, and sum up the day in a few paragraphs.
I am not looking for one person to fill this role. I need several people from different areas of Autauga and Elmore Counties. You can set your own hours. There is not a set story count. I will take what you can offer and pay you per story.
I value people who are immersed in their communities that actually know what is going on. I just ask you to be fair, even if you know the players. Just the facts, with no opinion. Simple.
So, Autaugaville, Billingsley, Booth, Marbury and surrounding communities, I need to hear from you in Autauga County. In Elmore County, I need people from Eclectic, Titus, Wetumpka, Tallassee and surrounding areas.
I have posted some of our numbers scattered on this page. In the past month alone, just on Facebook, we have reached 671,054 devices. The statistics call it “people,” but I am not buying that. Most people access our page through several devices, and each one has a different identification. Half that number, even divide by three if you like, and I still find it humbling. We have our readers. Our advertisers are coming on board. I NEED WRITERS.
My original thought was I might get 1,000 likes and have a small but loyal following. So much for that. I blame the Prayer of Jabez.
So, if you are interested, shoot me an email. Please give me a few days to respond, because life is rather hectic.
We have a very small but happy team that works very well together. Leave your drama at home, bring your smile, your positive attitude and your work ethic. We keep it simple.
Sarah Stephens founded the Elmore/Autauga News on April 1, 2015. She can be reached at [email protected]. The EAN has a very nice office in the AirNow parking lot in Millbrook, but you will rarely find her there, as she works out of her home office. (She doesn’t always play well with others, especially when she is in full beast reporter mode.)
