Whether to keep going – and some signs along the way
When I started Forward Kentucky back in 2016, I committed to myself and to my family to do this work through the 2020 election. After taking early retirement to try to build a news-and-commentary-and-policy site, it seemed to me that it would take that much time, and multiple elections, to see if there was an audience for it, AND if it could be financially viable.
At first, it seemed the answer to both questions would be No. Our traffic was spotty, and very dependent on Facebook, which I didn’t like. Financially, we lost money for the first three years, with me making up the difference out of my retirement funds. I knew that 2020 would be a pivotal year.
We put up the flexible paywall in late 2018, and gradually gained new members throughout 2019. A few people complained, but most people understood that the work cost money. As we now come to the end of my four-year commitment, we are covering our current bills, although there is no extra to pay for staff or to grow in other ways.
So, I am in that space of deciding whether to keep going with Forward Kentucky, or not. And if we keep going, how do we grow? There’s not any more of me or my time, and we don’t have the money to hire staff.
As I am in this decision time, some things have happened that could be signs – or could just be nice events:
- Someone watched an interview with a person from a certain non-profit on our weekly show The State of Kentucky, and was so impressed with the work of that organization that they sent them a significant donation.
- Forward Kentucky received a significant donation of our own from someone who wanted to show their support for the work, even though we are not a non-profit and their donation wouldn’t have any sort of tax advantage.
- More than one person contacted me to say they were looking forward to using the Bill Tracker again during the upcoming legislative session, calling it a key tool in their ability to stay engaged and up-to-date.
I am being this transparent because I believe I should be with you, our faithful readers. You are the ones I do this work for, and you are the ones who will help me decide about the future.
So, if you do have an opinion, idea, feedback, or other thoughts, let me know. You can use the “Shout Back” page on the web site, or you can just send me an email at Bruce@ForwardKY.com.
And don’t worry – nothing is changing for now. I’m getting ready for the General Assembly, and considering how to grow. But I wanted you to know what is going on, so you can weigh in if you wish.
This is the last issue of this twice-monthly newsletter for 2020, so let me wish all of you the best of the holidays, and a happy new year as we look forward to 2021. Take care of yourselves, and may the celebration of the holidays be everything you need and much of what you want.
Bruce Maples, publisher
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New features on the ForwardKY site
We’ve added a bunch of new things to the site, but so that we don’t blow up your inbox, we’ll only list a few in each newsletter. This time, it’s a new way to keep up with the news, and how to follow Forward Kentucky on your phone.
The “Scan” menu
One of our goals is to be your one-stop-shop for political news in Kentucky. With that in mind, we recently partnered with Distributed Media Lab to add special “news widgets” to the site.
If you go to the Scan menu on the site, you will see four story widgets:
- Kentucky political news
- National political news
- National environment news
- National education news
If you click on any of the stories in a given widget, a reader will pop up, and you can scan through the current set of stories. Click on one in the sidebar, and you can read that story as if you were on that site. Neat!
Just like the Read menu gives you a good way to see everything published on Forward Kentucky in a list, the Scan menu helps you keep up with political and other news from the state and beyond. Make both menus part of how you use our site – I think you will find them very handy.
The Newsbreak app on your phone or tablet
For some time, we considered paying someone to build a custom app for our readers and members to use on their phone. The cost, though, was prohibitive, and we weren’t sure it would get enough use to justify it.
Enter Newsbreak.
Newsbreak is an app for your mobile device that aggregates stories from hundreds of sources, and presents them to you for free. You can choose which feeds you want to follow, and you can scan those feeds fairly quickly.
After looking at their app, we decided to become a Newsbreak publisher, and we are glad we did. Here’s what we like about Newsbreak:
- They are focused on local news. You set up a location, and they give you news for that place.
- They use our headline, featured image, and the first part of our story, but not the whole story. To read it, you have to click through to our site.
- They present the story in their own internal browser, but it is our site, so we get the traffic.
- For you, the reader, it is easy to go back to the summary page and find another story to read.
So, if you would like to get Forward Kentucky in an app, NewsBreak is for you. Just install it on your device, and add Forward Kentucky to the “Following” menu.
Note that you can also use our site in your mobile browser, and it works fine there as well. (In fact, I like using the Read menu on my phone.) The choice is yours. Whichever you choose, just be sure you consume our content; that’s why we post it.
New features described in previous newsletters
- The Read – Watch – Listen menus (more here)
- Gift subscriptions (more here)
- Secure communications tools for whistle-blowers and tipsters (more here)
- Secure contact form (more here)
More new features in the next Newsletter!
Top stories for past two weeks (or so)
If you get the Forward Five or the Weekly Wrap and open them and read them, you probably don’t need this section. If you don’t, this will help you know what everyone else is reading or viewing on the site, and by scanning it, you might find something valuable that you missed.
McConnell torpedoes emerging bipartisan deal for pandemic relief, leaving Congress where it’s been for months: stuck – A bipartisan $900 billion COVID-19 aid package all but collapsed Thursday after McConnell said Republican senators won’t support aid to state and local governments.
Finally, a better electoral map – We all know the standard red/blue electoral map. Unfortunately, it is based on land area in a state, rather than that state’s actual electoral votes. Here’s a better map from Le Monde.
Rep. Katie Porter calls out Mitch McConnell – Rep. Katie Porter, she of the marker board and the truth-finding questions, recently posted a Twitter thread calling out our own Mitch McConnell for his refusal to pass a relief package during the pandemic. We thought it was worth sharing.
An open letter to Governor Beshear and the legislative leaders – Each side says the other is wrong. Perhaps there are actions all can take that would show leadership and not politics.
Let’s talk about McConnell and fixing democracy … – Another solid video from Beau of the Fifth Column, on two ideas that would dramatically alter our democracy for the better.
Beshear needs a new approach to get Kentuckians to heed warnings and follow rules to prevent spread of the virus – It’s rare for a high-ranking official to seek advice publicly, but that’s exactly what Gov. Andy Beshear did Wednesday at his daily coronavirus briefing. So, here is some advice for the governor.
KY Repubs in Congress won’t admit Biden won – The fear that Republicans, including our Kentucky seven, have of both Donald Trump and his cult followers is both amazing and disheartening. If they continue to refuse to accept the results, they will do even more serious damage to our democracy.
The tsunami is coming – Like any tsunami, the wave started innocuously enough. Even disconcertingly calmly. Elective surgeries weren’t scheduled over the Thanksgiving holiday anyway, which meant the emergency department, for once, had a manageable caseload.
Abortion and Kentucky politicians – “We’ve been told repeatedly that Democrats can’t win because of ‘God, guns and abortion,’” said Nicole Erwin, communications manager for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky. “We’ve got to change the narrative.”