By Kellean Gale
Building a sense of shared community. The Floyd Beacon is a distinctive paper focusing on people, society, civics, and lower-cost advertising. We began as a small print publication to inform our community about civic meetings, community events and encourage citizens to write and share talents and stories of life within their community. We quickly grew to a full-size paper printing over 1000 copies twice a month. The home of the paper is Floyd, but the appeal of the content is widespread and growing. We believe that people create the news and desire to speak about what is happening around them locally and regionally. Several of our supporters are encouraging us to expand beyond our hometown. One person wrote, “Every community in SWVA deserves factual information for informed decision making.” Another wrote about how she enjoys our pride in community history. After receiving an email with just a single statement, “Think Bigger,” we made our first-anniversary goal to “Think Bigger” in our second year.
The job of a newspaper is to inform, not make the news or slant the facts. We focus our paper on people and civic issues affecting daily life, not the daily news. Our historical, informational, and local stories are written and submitted by the community and have a broader appeal to more than just one community in the NRV and surrounding areas. The civic content reports on local governance and up-and-coming plans for development. Editorial content contains facts and sources. Opinions presented are respectful and without attack. We include political content and bold topics because it seems that in today’s world, everything is boldly political and needs our understanding for informed decision-making. We encourage community engagement, civic responsibility, and religious faith as the essential foundation of a thriving community. People are the government, and they make the news. It is the people’s right to speak out publicly. Readers can look forward to finding something of interest because they help write the paper.
Business is reciprocal, more than just the exchange of money for goods and services. Business is the heartbeat of our towns and cities, the economic engine that drives them. Through business, we share our culture, talents, and experiences, grow community and knowledge. People live in one place and shop, work, and play in others. This movement of people offers the opportunity for businesses to grow and expand sales. We understand that money for advertising is valuable, and advertising essential to business growth. Now it is time for the Floyd Beacon to grow again and help advertisers reach out beyond their local area. In August, we launched a digital version of the paper that includes all advertisers in both print and digital versions.
More than a newspaper. Building a shared community.
The style of journalism we like best is participatory, so we encourage you to write and share your stories and interests at editor@thefloydbeacon.com. For advertising information adsales@thefloydbeacon.com. For subscriptions, visit our website thefloydbeacon.com.
