Comments on: Print ain’t dead: How an ad-man-turned publisher is building a local news empire profitably in Texas

By: personal injury lawyer

personal injury lawyer — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:12:00 +0000

I think that is awesome. There are some things I would much rather read holding it in my hand, than reading it online. Although and online version would be a great addition for those who want everything online. I think John’s concept is great and wish him well!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:31:00 +0000

This is incredible! I hope he has every success in the world! I hate that print is going away...as great as technology is, there's nothing that beats a good print copy. Nothing ever will. high performance alternators

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:31:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:31:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 03 May 2011 22:58:00 +0000

Does this really count. It is Texas, after all. :) indiana dealerships

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 22:26:00 +0000

This is very interesting I may give print another try for http://duracleanaustin.com

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 18:04:51 +0000

Community Impact is a good concept that was, at first, executed well. It seems that it has fallen into a trap, however, of delivering what the publisher thinks is relevant rather than–objectively–what is relevant in the marketplace. What started as the peppy, “anti-media” new kid on the block is now a predictable, biased caricature of what it used to be. It seems that someone has taken their eye off the ball in one of the corner offices. Lively, insightful, edgy stories have been replaced with “safe” pieces. The company is now wrought with high turnover and–reportedly–low morale. Can they turn it around?

By: Een typisch Nederlands probleem? Kansen voor de toekomst « De wereld van Bas

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:56:13 +0000

[...] volledige artikel met John P. Garret is hier terug te [...]

By: Hyperlocal populair in print « De nieuwe reporter

Hyperlocal populair in print « De nieuwe reporter — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 06:24:42 +0000

[...] omdat hij erin geslaagd is lokale adverteerders aan zich te binden. Dat lukte weer, aldus een bericht bij Nieman Journalism Lab, doordat relevante content een geïnteresseerde lezersgroep creëerde. [...]

By: Print ain’t dead: How an ad-man-turned publisher is building a local news empire profitably in Texas | Zocials

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 22:45:16 +0000

[...] Click here to read the full article… [...]

By: Friday’s casserole « PR POTLUCK – where no two casseroles are ever the same

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:00:14 +0000

[...] Print ain’t dead: How an ad-man-turned publisher is building a local news empire profitably in Tex… - from niemanlab.org [...]

By: links for 2010-04-09 « Köszönjük, Emese!

links for 2010-04-09 « Köszönjük, Emese! — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:04:56 +0000

[...] Print ain’t dead: How an ad-man-turned publisher is building a local news empire profitably in Tex… Garrett’s the Texas publisher of seven neighborhood editions of a monthly newspaper called Community Impact Newspaper. And he’s not looking online to grow his business. The difference between him and the Luddite computer naysayer is that, so far at least, he’s been right. His business is profitable, and he’s expanding. His secret to success: attract local advertisers by giving readers relevant content through targeted distribution. (tags: printfuture to*read casestudy) [...]

By: Charla

Charla — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:35:20 +0000

I live in Round Rock and get excited when the Community Impact comes in the mail, like Christmas every month! Great content,and what I love is that it’s NOT bias. They but big stories and simple local stories, but the success is local! John is right on with that. Obviously, their business is growing in the worst economy ever.
As far as the former employees that are talking smack, as an HR person I would say that it only makes them (the former employee) look bad. No one likes to be let go. Guys use those experiences to walk away learning something from it instead of pointing fingers. Come on, don’t be a negative Nancy! Who would want to work around that?
Glenn was raised right, if you don’t have anything nice to say…..

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:55:06 +0000

I guess I dont understand. Newspaper, flyer, circular, does it really matter? As for many of the comments, it is a free service to each of you. If you dont like it, throw it away, recycle it, or give it to someone who does like it. Let me ask exactly, what would make you happy…because free doesnt seem to be the answer. The answer to me is simple. Keep negativity to yourself…if you dont have anything nice to say, dont say anything. As for #11 responder, your comments are completely discredited since you no longer work there…simply a disgruntled x-employee. I like the paper and have nothing negative to say…Thank you for the paper Community Impact!

By: Tammy Moore

Tammy Moore — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:47:56 +0000

I live in Round Rock and receive Impact. I have also had a story published in it from a press release I submitted. I like that it comes to my mailbox and has good content. The ads don’t bother me – that’s how it’s free! Plus, we usually snag a few coupons from it as well, which supports our local businesses.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:43:17 +0000

I don’t even consider Community Impact a newspaper, it’s more of a community newsletter. The content is so biased with only those companies that advertise with them getting any recognition. I just flip to the back to get the coupons and then in the recycle bin it goes.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:09:56 +0000

As a former Impact employee and somebody who worked closely with Natalie I can assure you that the company she once loved no longer exists. I remember the good times when John Garrett knew every employee by name and cracked jokes with us in the hallways. Then he read a book about William Randolph Hearst – the man who practically
invented yellow journalism to sell newspapers – and starting expanding his empire at great cost to company morale. Suddenly all the things that made it fun to work at Community Impact started disappearing, and once all the perks were gone he started getting rid of employees to save a buck. One girl was fired 12 days before Christmas. One guy was fired for wearing a wrinkled shirt. John even recruited a former colleague to leave a high-paying job to join the Community Impact staff and then fired him 90 days later because the sales numbers weren’t as high as he thought they should be. Based on complaints I hear from current employees its not a very happy place to work at all.

Community Impact is nothing more than a replica of the printed beast it was rebelling against: an aging newspaper with declining revenues where the bottom line is more important than serving the people who read the paper.

By: jim haigh

jim haigh — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:08:49 +0000

Very nice piece on a wonderful, independent community paper group. Papers like Mr. Garrett’s are proof positive that “Print ain’t dead!”

It’s worth noting that Community Impact Newspapers are not exactly a rare bird exhibit in the larger media zoo. It’s easy to get that impression when you have prominent studies like Pew/PEJ’s peek at Baltimore managing to find only 6 papers reporting in that metro — problem is, they missed at least another 11. That’s a heck of an undercount.

The reality: Collectively, free community papers have served nearly every community in America long before the ‘pay to read’ model of dissemination began to erode. And for this industry, ‘hyper-local’ is not the latest buzzword or strategic bandwagon — instead it is their enduring business model.

A great read for journalism and marketing students is Victor Jose’s “The Free Paper in America,” c. 2000, Graphic Press. Bonus, it has a compelling forward by his boyhood friend, Kurt Vonnegut. For those embarking on the daunting task of actually mapping the current state of local media ecosystems, here’s a starting point if you’d like to include the 1,000s of local papers exemplified in this article: http://paperchain.com/associations

By: Get it got it

Get it got it — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:56:10 +0000

Sorry I live in north Austin and I get Impact and it is the first thing that goes in the trash when I get my mail.

By: Jim Pollard

Jim Pollard — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 03:26:33 +0000

Hyper local print ocntent that is relevant to micro-markets & supported (“littered with ads”) by local advertisers and properly distributed to targeted areas is the secret to success in the communications industry.

John Garrett understands what readers and advertisers want and knows how to put it all together. Big conglomerates don’t really get it and will struggle to catch up-and-coming powerhouses like Community Impact Newspapers.

Community newspapers are hot!

By: Mark S. Luckie

Mark S. Luckie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:24:30 +0000

You can pick up the “Print Ain’t Dead” shirt here: http://bit.ly/baS1aR

By: No name, please

No name, please — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:21:50 +0000

Years ago I worked for a similar group of weekly papers in Chicago, run by Copley Newspapers, that were hyper-local, community-based and very well received in the communities they covered. And they did some really strong community journalism.

A change of ownership brought a new direction, and a new emphasis on cost containment over content, which forced the papers for be far less local. It’s unfortunate, as many of us who worked on those papers still think this is one answer to making money and serving the media needs of our communities.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:38:12 +0000

Where can I get that shirt? It’s totally bitchin’.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:59:01 +0000

While Community Impact certainly appears to be a good paper, albeit littered with ads, I agree with some of what Matthew mentioned earlier. I wish I could remember his exact comment since it now appears to be deleted. Through some business acquaintances, I know of several men who have interviewed for a sales position within the company. All have had previous sales experience and college degrees in the business and marketing fields. However, it seems they have been passed over for the current sales reps that are female, in all probability, a few with little to no previous sales history. However, they appear to be young and attractive. It’s a shame that such an upstanding company has a history of discrimination in hiring practices. Just take a look at their company photo on their website. A picture speaks a thousand words…

By: Suzanne Yada

Suzanne Yada — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:41:01 +0000

Great story. Love this idea. As someone who is constantly studying different news business models, I’m adding this to my arsenal of ideas.

One question: Earlier this story said there were 76 employees, but now it says 63. Is that a correction? Could you make it a little more obvious that there was one?

Thanks! Again, excellent article.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:02:00 +0000

I am a former Community Impact staffer and must say, “BEST company I have ever worked for!” In addition to John being a man of his word and awesome employer, he is right on track with his company. The paper has the best content for each area and the distribution gets to everyone. People LOVE Community Impact! No doubt he is successful and his business will continue to grow! If I ever move back to the area, I would highly consider being a part of his team once again!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:07:38 +0000

I’m a former Impact staffer and a believer in John’s concept. I’m also a professional web producer and have now worked for print, broadcast and online outlets and can easily say that Impact is one of the most optimistic workplaces and a model not to be ignored. In fact I’m shocked they haven’t expanded faster or been ripped off across the nation. That said, I wish an online community site would partner with Community Impact to give a really quality web version of what they offer. I think it could be a steep and expensive educational curve for Impact to make a powerful, interactive community site but if they partnered with an experienced team who knew how to sell and fund it, it could be great. Are you listening to this internet? This could be your opportunity.