Reviewing other business plans

While we were in class, we had the delightful opportunity to review our friends' business plans for editing. Upon seeing other business plans, I realized that I really liked some simpler, cleaner layouts as opposed to my more decorated one.

One girl made her own logo. Another girl chose a typewriter font. I made my own graphics. In the end, I really liked the simple layouts that were easy on the eyes. Mine was simple, but maybe it could use a more clean-shave.

Then there's the philosophical question: Do I change mine because I like theirs? Or in a pile of business plans, does mine stand out because it isn't as clean shaven as some others? If I conform to be like other business plans, does my business lose some of its originality and flare?

I probably won't change it much after all.

On putting together a business plan

Yesterday, I went through a put together a business plan for my News in Comics company. 

I can honestly say that when I signed up for Entrepreneurial Journalism, I did not expect to come up with a business (or have any good ideas). I did not expect to put together a business plan, think about money, and interview entrepreneurs. 

But what I've come out of it so far with is a deeper understanding and appreciation for what goes into making a business run.

Before this class, I probably never would have thought myself capable of making a company. 

Now that I'm in the middle of making one, it's hard to believe I thought that way for several reasons. 

• Being a businessman is difficult work, but it's also rewarding. 
• I can ask for help. I can hire people. I can start from scratch and spend next to nothing to get things going. 
• I love being creative, and running a business is a golden outlet for it. 

I liked making my business plan for a couple of reasons. To me, it was fun using a Mac template for my presentation. It was fun editing beautiful photos I'd taken and then adding text to them. It was not fun trying to figure out the footer situation, and it didn't print anyway. But what do I have to show for it? A beautiful presentation that actually looks like I put thought and effort into my work. Because I did. 

Post presentation review

Man, I just love when things go exactly as I know they won't.

Today, I finally presented my project idea to the class. I studdered and mumbled in my nervous shell, and my technological wit wasn't savvy enough to put my latest version onto my flash drive. Yes, friends, I have learned a lot today: I'm even less of a public figure than I am a business person!

In all honesty, I think my presentation was a good representation of my ideal company, but I do wish there were more guidelines. For instance, when we started our projects, we were supposed to present them either as if they just started out of thin air, or as if we had run them for a while. Naturally, my I presented as if it's been running because that's what we saw from Shark Tank. And then people got confused. 

In the end, though, I think I've developed a large appreciation for people in business and the backbones of functioning institutions. Who knew it took so much? 

My competitors (2)

In my last blog, I explored my competition in the world of comics journalism. There are a couple organizations that have established themselves or are close to doing so. There seem to be some freelancers, too. 

But there is one problem with their journalism: presence. 

My news, if everything would go according to plan (which it won't), would have a big social media presence. I would try to spread it once I got my feet on the ground. That way I could open the door for people to see and consume comics journalism. It could even help my competitors a little bit. I'm not interested in business politics, so helping my competitors a little bit wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to me.

Also, the other comics journalism website I explored was great. Free access to stories and good looking comics. The problem, however, as I saw it was that it wasn't interactive. It's just a comic page and then you hit next and it moves to the next comic page. 

I'd want mine to look more like Marvel's online comics. 

Where you click next, and the page zooms to the next text box and appropriate picture. If users don't like that way, though, they could opt out for the page-by-page option. I would want mine to be as interactive and enjoyable as possible. I don't want it to be a comic book with news instead of fantasy. I want it to be an experience. 

My competitors (1)

Every business, including my own, even in its hypothetical state, has competitors. There's this guy, referenced in my last post, who has a blog about comics reporting. 

Then there's Joe Sacco, who is pretty much the pioneer in this medium. He has a wikipedia page. He could be someone to partner with if this ever comes to fruition, or he could be someone to fear.

Umm, then there's these people who have my idea almost down pat. These guys have stories for free on the internet in comic form. And they claim to be #1 (don't know how true that is). Their layout is good, their content looks news-worthy. 

Then -- and I'm not sure -- but it looks like there is a schooling of sorts dedicated to this kind of journalism. Either way, it has a domain name with a .com, and therefore, this movement is getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

My competition is good. But there still isn't a huge awareness of this journalism yet. I might still have a chance… 

Market Research: An attempt to answer

For my last post, I attempted to identify a certain demographic by asking specific questions in order to sell my product better. Now, it's time to try to answer some of those questions.

How many comic journalists are there?

Well, so far I know of one. Joe Sacco. He's technically the pioneer in the medium. But there are other people who are starting to catch on as well. At this website, a man describes what he would like to see for the future of comics journalism. And how he doesn't like the term "comic journalism" in order to describe the comics news industry. About specific numbers, though, I'm not sure what my competition looks like. 

How many people buy comics?

According to the same website above, comic books sales may have hit a slump after 1993, but recently hit a high. My only sources for actual comic sales are not completely trustworthy, but Wikipedia says Marvel made $125 million in 2007. Then Disney bought it. If Disney wants a company like Marvel, who is to say that a large corporation like Disney would not want journalism in comic form at a later date? 

How many people consume news on a yearly basis?

According to a People-Press article, news consumption is going down for television, radio and print. But hey look at that! Just as we talked about in class, online and mobile news is going up. That could be good news for my company, which could sell printed comics journalism as more of a novelty and an extra revenue than a main source. 

What ages consume news? Is it all ages?

According to this article about Twitter, young adults find a good source of their news on the social site. I think, then, it is safe to assume that older generations, like my sweet grandmother, still have not taken to the social media, or even online, forms of news. This is not true for all, certainly, but the older generation folks I've talked to have deemed the internet confusing except for occasionally checking an email.  So if I want to target my business only at young people, I can use social media, like Twitter and Facebook, as a means to spread awareness about my product. 

How much time do people dedicate to news?

While I couldn't find the numbers to this question specifically, I did find one one business article that talks about how we are always online. If we're always online, an online news source would have some luck. However grabbing and holding attention would be the trick with that method. That's why I would want to print some of my news, as well, so that people know what it means and what it stands for both on and off a screen. 

Market Research: Starting with questions

For my News in Comics company, I will have to cater to the people who will actually buy my product. There will be a number of people in the world who will never be interested in my type of news production. There will be some people who are. My job is to find those people and cater to them. It may be a product that I'm developing, but it's theirs. It belongs to the news-consumers as long as they have a need for it. To market to my costumers, I've developed some starting questions that I will attempt to answer in my next post.

1. How many comic journalists are there?
2. How many people buy comics?
3. How many people consume news on a yearly basis?
4. How many people watch television news?
5. How many people buy newspapers? How many people read the funnies in the news paper?
6. What's the most popular comic book company?
7. What ages consume news? Is it all ages?
8. How much money do people spend on news?
9. How much time do people dedicate to news?
10. When people consume news, what do they look for?

Journalism: Is this it?

As a frustrated, busy, out-of-time, write-to-deadline journalism student, I must wonder, is it really me? Is it for me? And better yet, am I for it?

To report takes courage of a kind I didn't know I possessed. It requires making appointments with strangers. It requires not always getting faces to put with the words you might receive over email. It means fumbling words, awkward laughter, sweaty palms, and time constraints. It means weird hours, anxiety, a job never done, and a job sometimes done well. Other times, not so much. 

It requires you put your life aside so you can ask others' about theirs. And if you can't listen, you can't be a reporter. If you can't write, you can't report. If you can't read, you can't ask good questions. 

Journalism means stepping out of a comfort zone I loved all too much. It means embracing the awkwardness, being forced to get out of your element, and put yourself in a world you've never known before. And do it all over the next week. The next day. The next email. The next text. 

Sometimes I wonder if this is really what I want. Is this really who I want to be? Do I really want to be reporting all the time? I'm very introverted. I get nervous around new people. And while I'm not so sure that I want to do this for the rest of my life, while I may or may not consider changing my major or taking other classes, while I may or may not ever come to a conclusion about this journalism dilemma, I do know one thing: Journalism is a good thing to experience. I have confidence emailing anyone I need to email. I've been forced to step outside of my bubble, and I haven't tried to go back. So I don't know what I want to do. I don't know how I want to grab a paycheck. At least journalism gave me one of the best character building experiences of my entire life. 

John Lepage and the reporter

John Christie wrote about John LePage. And for what seems to be a fairly small online publication of news, he did a great job. The photography is excellent. The writing is great. I also love that it is broken up stylistically into chapters. 

Because of Christie's work and his senior reporter status, I have a few easy questions for him:

• Mr. Christie, what gave you the idea to do a long profile of LePage? 
• Why did you break it up into chapters? 
• Were you ever frustrated, working with a bunch of opinionated people? 
• Do you live in Maine? 
• Was it difficult to keep your own opinion out of it? 
• Also, why does it seem like you and Naomi write all the stories on the site? 
• Is it hard to keep it going? 
• Are you always busy?
• Why did you become a reporter?
• Why are you still a reporter?

Fulfilling the mission

The mission of the Pine Tree Watchdog:

Mission: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will keep citizens informed about their government and their public servants through high-quality, independent investigative reporting that is published by media outlets across the state.

Then the question is, does it fulfill the mission?

The stories on the website include stories about Wind Power and the way residents feel about it; Pharmacist drug abuse; and even Lepage-Cain financial disclosure.

As far as I can see, Watchdog does its job. Every story I scroll through is about Maine's citizens and their government or issues within the state. There are stories about local people that are doing crimes throughout the state, but there are also stories where the citizens get an active chance to voice their opinions. Does it fulfill its mission? I think so. The stories seem to be well-thought out and in-depth. Though I don't know where the first part to the pharmaceutical story went. I would like to read Part 1.    

About Us - my company's statements

My professor recommended that we each practice with mission statements and visions for our companies. This blog is practice for that.

At the Pine Tree Watchdog, the About Us page has some helpful information. It all starts with Vision.

Vision: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will fulfill the responsibility of a free press in the American democracy by looking beneath the surface of Maine government and writing clearly and without fear or favor about what it discovers.

News in Comics, Vision: The Morning Glory Company will fulfill the responsibility of connecting the American society with a form of comic-book journalism by reporting local, national, and international stories with dialogue, captions, and illustrated, painted, or photographed images to tell the news in a new way.

Mission: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will keep citizens informed about their government and their public servants through high-quality, independent investigative reporting that is published by media outlets across the state.

News in Comics, Mission: The Morning Glory Company will keep citizens informed about their societies and big happenings around the world through high-quality, collaborative reporting between artists, reporters, and editors that is published online and is printed at different news outlets throughout the United States. 

News in Comics - My reviews about everyone's reviews

My PowerPoint pitch, which we all know by now, is News in Comics.

People had really helpful feedback for me.

The font was too small. It seemed kind of busy. There was no clear definition of how I would make money. Slide 9 was kinda wacky. Slide 6 wouldn't show up for someone. 

All very valid points. I did my best to fix them and be more transparent.

I also liked the feedback on individual slides. I think that made it easier to go back and quickly edit, though I ended up spending more time on each slide, anyway. You know when you finish a project, and you get that sensation of relief because you're all done? And then you realize you want to add something else, so you go back and you tinker. The next thing you know, another hour is gone, and you just can't believe how much better your project is and how much time you spent on it all at once!?

That's pretty much how every project goes for me. Even this blog post. What I'm typing right now is actually an insert that was not part of the original. Shh...

If you would so enjoy seeing me silly presentation, here it is! 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uunga0nytjynqqh/Hall_NewsinComics.pptx

PowerPoint Pitch reviews part 4

See the News:

Pros:

• I like the black and white theme. It reminds me of dark rooms and old photographs. Very appropriate for the topic.
• How many pictures were you thinking of having for each story?
• Good concept.

Cons: 

• I almost think you jumped in a little too early into the problems. I would've enjoyed a larger scope before you put me into that position. I also would've liked to know more about the product. Print/online/mobile…Will you ever sell the original photographs for extra revenue?
• How does it save news gatherers time? I definitely see how it saves everyone else time. 
• What are you asking me to invest, and how much of a return do I get on it?

Good job overall! 

PowerPoint Pitch Reviews part 3

Well Now: 

Pros:

• I love the way it is defined clearly at the beginning of slide 1.
• I also love the clarity of audience. 
• Slide 4 is really powerful because it defines the problem clearly and offers a solution.
• I like the constant color theme. Very clear.

Cons:

• On slide 5, it says it's going to be on a website. Maybe just more clearly define that you want it to  be an online collection until you can get it in print. State intentions clearly when it comes to presentation of the product to its consumers.

Nothing else, nice presentation. Very professional!

Unblocked Writers:

Pros:

• Nice title and general theme. I like the sunscreen. 
• I love the included audio caption. How did you do that?
• I like that you compare the website to Aderall, though I'm not sure it's necessary to get the point across. 
• I like the way your audio is much more elaborate than your slides. 
• I love slide 10. Powerful words.

Cons:

• Slides could be a little more detailed. Maybe use some graphics or statistics?
• Maybe make word font a little bigger.
• You could make the word slides a little bit more word-detailed, as well. I love how the audio is more complex, but I think you could vamp it just a bit. You want to attract people. You're building a website. So show me what you can do!

Storytelling Ads

Storytelling ads.

Some think it could be the end of journalism. I think newspapers and online mags are concerned that they're not transparent enough about what they are. All the ones I've seen lately have said ADVERTISING on the top of the ad. I think it was a few years ago when I was reading a magazine and I got confused about one of the ads being a story, but since that incident, I can't think of any recent issues I've had with it.

Personally, I don't think I have a problem with a native content or paid content ad. I do ask two things though.

       1) I want it to be clear that it is an ad. I want it to be dictated on the top of the ad that it is an ad, not    
           on the bottom. And I want the ad to be truthful. IF the product really does do a service for  
           people, fine. Explain that. Be a good advertiser.
     
        2) But if you want your ad to look like a news story, you better be darn clear with my readers if
            your product has a problem. 'Cause I ain't playin' those games.
     

When Terry Williams came to visit

Terry Williams came to visit our class last Monday. 

He was pretty cool. 

I found his presentation to be captivating and easy to follow. Here's why:

1. Mr. Terrance Williams conducted himself well. He came in as a businessman and left as a businessman. He was down-to-earth, and yet, he was very much about his papers and his journalistic career. 
2. He started his presentation with a question: Why are filthy rich men buying newspapers? Until he'd posed the question, I hadn't thought much about it. Well of course rich men are going to buy something that seems outdated. Of course they're going to try to put the "hip" in hipster. It's almost what old men are known for. You drive out to Las Vegas, it ain't a whole bunch of young folk rolling around in Lamborghini's. Not only did Williams pose the question, he also answered it. Partially for vanity. And also, it's got a big audience. 
3. Williams also answered audience. How is it growing? Because of tablets, not print. And not only that, but there are new revenue categories in the business as well: print, brand businesses, digital, social media, native content and advertising, events, leveraging a new business culture. Alas! There is hope! 
4. He talked about PayWalls. Which is kind of a big deal for how newspapers make money these days. 
5. To make extra revenue, newspapers can sponsor local speakers, debates, film festivals, crime sites, and live stream news reports. 

Mr. Williams made me think about news-business generalities. I took away all the different ways a newspaper can succeed in these changing times. I took away hope.