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Schwan · 11-01-2004, 07:13 AM

I have this idea that’s bouncing around in my head and I just can’t let go of it. I thought I’d post it here and see if anyone had any experiences with anything similar, and if anyone has any tips or experiences regarding the issue.

I live in a large city, with around 2-3 million inhabitants. What my city doesn’t have is an evening newspaper. What it does have is a lot of traffic jams in, you guessed it, the evening. Recently the large dailies started selling their papers right on the traffic lights, to drivers on their way to and from work. It’s a bit pointless, I think, to buy a paper in the evening, especially if it’s, in fact, yesterdays paper (it’s printed overnight).

I have a tad of journalistic experience, and these days I’m doing copyright work for various people, though I’m not earning anything from it. Since I’m spending most of the day doing nothing, as I have classes every two weeks over the weekend, I thought that I could use all the free time to start an evening paper. This would be a totally home-grown enterprise, with me doing all the work. I’ve calculated the time, and I think it’s doable. I think I have the skill to pull it off.

Evening paper is something large – I think a more appropriate term would be newsletter. I can write the articles about the latest world news, I can do the very basic DTP on my home computer, I can print the newsletter, and make copies, and I can do it all just in time for the evening traffic. I’ve made some very basic calculations, and the whole idea starts to make sense if I sell 100 or more copies. The traffic lasts from around 4.30 p.m. till 7 p.m.

There are multiple points around the city I could sell the paper – in traffic, that is. I figure that if I manage to sell a hundred copies in that estimates time in a single spot, then the idea is worth pursuing on daily basis. It’s still an idea, though. I’m not really that hot on the idea of actually selling the paper, and I have no idea if anyone’s buy one.

On the other hand, nobody’s doing it (though this might be for a reason, too). I see a niche this big, and I just can’t stop thinking about it. I understand that the press market for each country, or even city, is unique, but I wonder if there’s anyone on tfp who has any experience with anything similar, or has any opinions or ideas to share with me.

11-01-2004, 07:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
Schwan A boy and his dog Location: EU!	Starting an evening paper thingee I have this idea that’s bouncing around in my head and I just can’t let go of it. I thought I’d post it here and see if anyone had any experiences with anything similar, and if anyone has any tips or experiences regarding the issue. I live in a large city, with around 2-3 million inhabitants. What my city doesn’t have is an evening newspaper. What it does have is a lot of traffic jams in, you guessed it, the evening. Recently the large dailies started selling their papers right on the traffic lights, to drivers on their way to and from work. It’s a bit pointless, I think, to buy a paper in the evening, especially if it’s, in fact, yesterdays paper (it’s printed overnight). I have a tad of journalistic experience, and these days I’m doing copyright work for various people, though I’m not earning anything from it. Since I’m spending most of the day doing nothing, as I have classes every two weeks over the weekend, I thought that I could use all the free time to start an evening paper. This would be a totally home-grown enterprise, with me doing all the work. I’ve calculated the time, and I think it’s doable. I think I have the skill to pull it off. Evening paper is something large – I think a more appropriate term would be newsletter. I can write the articles about the latest world news, I can do the very basic DTP on my home computer, I can print the newsletter, and make copies, and I can do it all just in time for the evening traffic. I’ve made some very basic calculations, and the whole idea starts to make sense if I sell 100 or more copies. The traffic lasts from around 4.30 p.m. till 7 p.m. There are multiple points around the city I could sell the paper – in traffic, that is. I figure that if I manage to sell a hundred copies in that estimates time in a single spot, then the idea is worth pursuing on daily basis. It’s still an idea, though. I’m not really that hot on the idea of actually selling the paper, and I have no idea if anyone’s buy one. On the other hand, nobody’s doing it (though this might be for a reason, too). I see a niche this big, and I just can’t stop thinking about it. I understand that the press market for each country, or even city, is unique, but I wonder if there’s anyone on tfp who has any experience with anything similar, or has any opinions or ideas to share with me.