Editors note 7/28/22

By Fletcher Farrar

At the Association of Alternative Newsmedia conference in Chicago last week, some sessions were almost like the old days, 40 or so years ago, when a group of us who wanted to do worldsaving journalism got together to learn from each other smart business models that might support our noble cause. It was here I learned where I could order newspaper racks and how free circulation works. Recent decades have not been kind to our association. Many of the more successful newspapers sold for more money than new owners could pay back to lenders. Then the pandemic put others out of business, or forced weeklies to become monthlies, or nonprofits, or digital only. But the alternative journalism survivors are still helping each other, on how to attract grants, or gain "members," or publish a better "Best of" edition. I was asked what is our "business model" for Illinois Times. I said we publish weekly, in print and online, supported by advertising. "On actual newsprint?" Yes. They said, "Wow." –Fletcher Farrar, editor and CEO