I have to admit that I only just recently discovered this show. Thanks to the magic of Hulu.com I've been watching it. Pretty cool stuff. I wonder when the next newspaper/website/news television show will come out.

It happened again. Maybe it's not a fluke? Three different posters tonight broke a robbery at a local tobacco store. About an hour and a half later the Anderson Herald Bulletin had a complete story, but it broke at AFP. Be different some of the members of the site told me last Friday when we met in person.

Three years ago, around this very same time, I sent out my declaration of independence from big media. I thought it was worth a smile, but I was also trying to send a serious message. Amidst the soaring newsprint prices and declining ad revenues, the media corporations have more to worry about.

This was pretty simple, but no one in the area is doing it yet. The readers seem to like the idea and it makes sense to ask them what questions they want answered. Of course, there's still a need for a gatekeeper, an editor, a JOURNALIST, but I've always seen a need for that. Indeed, I've seen a need for more of that.

I've had this idea since I first saw it online for L.A. and New York, etc., but always thought it would take tons of resources to pull it off. I talked with Al Jordan (The Computer Dude - who runs ElwoodIndiana.org) about the idea and he ran with it.

Whew. What a roller-coaster ride. And not just recently. The whole thing. Approaching year three at light speed. I'm happy with what I've been able to accomplish so far (with little to no money.)

On this Thanksgiving (thanking everyone who gave a little this past week ... and a thanks to Mike Tuesday (liquidtuesday) for the great Risk photos. I've been wanting to use them for a while now and thought they were appropriate for this piece...) Anyway, reflecting recently, I'm sensing that I'm near a turning point.

Pretty much stuck in Elwood again today, but that didn't stop me from getting a lot of work done. One of the highlights today had to be Craig Mayes (a volunteer firefighter and police officer for the city of Anderson, Indiana) supplying photos and a story about a MoveOn.org Anti-War rally that happened outside of Congressman Pence's Anderson Office.

Another day of grassroots journalism today.

We recently had a MFP member submit a great blog post (using his real name) that has generated 11 comments so far. One of the things that came up is the issue of anonymity online. We had viewpoints from both sides of the debate.

I don't know when exactly, but sometime recently The Star Press' homepage was invaded by a slim banner for the Muncie Mega Auction, a thinly branded auction site of some type. Good luck with that.