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.

Last night, I drove around 40 miles to pick up 1,000 of 18,000 copies of Anderson Free Press print. Yup. AFP Print is a free tabloid prototype for Anderson and Madison County, Indiana. (Nope, not the city I started in...) Around 550 were distributed at the annual Anderson Midnight Parade. I personally handed them out. Another 17,000 await shipment to a direct mail company for delivery to three zip codes - 46011, 46012, 46044.

I'm exhausted, but I feel good. Well, mostly good. Looking it over today, I notice two typos I didn't catch on the front page. Oops. I'm going to give 10,000 AFP Points (user points) to website users who can point them out. And be more careful next time.

What a long, crazy three years it's been. So many things I'd do differently now, but there's no changing the past - only learning from it. Now I push forward with the next step - getting the word out there via direct mail and making some money as well. Still no office or staff, but little to no overhead makes print a little more viable for the short term, imho.

Now, I do realize that ad sales are down and print is dying. I figure it has a few more years at least, though. (Read: 5 to 10 is my prediction... the time before e-paper becomes prominent.) So, the plan is to leverage print for revenue and to get word out about the website. The website is very (very!) prominent in the printed edition. The website is still the main product and always will be.

(Here's hoping Morris and others help with the newsML<-to->InDesign magic for Drupal...I have a long way to go before automating it, but web to print shouldn't be too hard.)

The next steps for me, though, are distributing the other 500 or so wisely (circulation hat) and selling ads (advertising hat.) Maybe that's why it's not so exciting yet. There's still a lot of work to be done. There's something about holding Anderson Free Press in my hands, though, that makes it seem somehow more real.

It's light (8 pages, FBC color, 35# bright...), but it will grow. The people are ready for it. I just have to juggle for a little while longer.

So here's the deal. (Yeah, it's a little crazy.) I'm offering 50 copies of this first special edition of Anderson Free Press Print - signed and numbered - for $20/copy. Heck, for that price, I'll even
point out the typos on the front page *hangs head*...

First 50 people to email with their address and a method for payment (PayPal preferred!) will receive copies in the order gmail sends them to me.

The idea might fail (like some of the others I've tried over the years), but I have hope. The people who come to the website are a great inspiration to me as I've struggled to stay afloat for three years, planting seeds on the series of tubes and in the real world. A couple of them even revealed their real names in the first print edition. That's kinda cool.

Do you have a few extra bucks? Want to hold a piece of history in the making in your hands? Just like my sense of humor and passion? Follow instructions above.

Happy Birthday, America. Happy Birthday, Free Press.

K. Paul Mallasch - Publisher
http://www.kpaulmedia.com

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