Starting A Business, Take Two

By Kristen Meriwether, Publisher

We recently had a reader send an image of the Smithville Times logo being scrapped off the window after they shut down the paper about a decade ago. And it made us think about what that paper meant to this community.

For much of Smithville’s history, if a resident wanted to know what was going on in the city, they could pick up a copy of the Smithville Times and find out. It would tell you what the city council voted on, who won the Tigers game, and what was happening downtown.

But after it closed, reliable news went with it.

Now if residents want to know what’s going on, we have to navigate a patchwork of websites, Facebook pages, and Nextdoor posts, which are often filled with more opinions, rumors, and toxic comments than useful information.

The city is really missing its information center, that connector of information to people, a place everyone goes to know what’s going on.

That is what we believe Smithville Texas News can be for this community. So what does that look like in our digital-first world? Here is our vision and some sample content:

Every weekday morning at 7:07 we will give you the Smithville Minute on X (just like we did before). But we will also provide an audio version on Spotify that you can listen to on the way to work or taking the kids to school.

We are working with businesses to get more events and specials into this. So if you are a business and want your concert, sale, or event in the Smithville Minute, email us at Howdy@smithvilletexasnews.com.

This week we recorded a sample using the content from April 10. Give it a listen and let us know what you think!

Following City Council or School Board meetings instead of having a written summary, we will shoot short videos and post those to our YouTube channel.

Here’s our first recap from Monday’s regular meeting. Let us know what you think!

We will cover sports just like we did before, and of course we will still write those heartfelt features like we did before.

But those stories will be on a full website instead of just on X, like they are now. This will allow you guys to share on social media, and it will make sure they are found on the web (and apparently ChatGPT). It will also allow us to set up subscriptions so that we can continue to serve the community.

We will still keep this weekly newsletter and it will always be free to readers and supported by sponsors.

As we get more comfortable editing audio and video, we plan to produce a longer-form podcast with interviews of people in the community. If you, or your organization, would like to be considered as a guest, email us at Howdy@smithvilletexasnews.com.

So come with us as we ramp back up in our new format over the next eight weeks. We will provide regular updates in our newsletter and on our X feed.

Smithville Texas News is reader-supported, so in order for us to continue making the content that helps keep you informed, we need capital. Please consider donating so we can keep the free press in Smithville!