Why Smithville Texas News is Restructuring

By Kristen Meriwether, Publisher

After careful consideration, Smithville Texas News will go through a restructuring so that we can put ourselves on solid financial footing to best serve the citizens of Smithville for the long-term.

Here is our plan:

When you look at the metrics for Smithville Texas News they are incredible:

We are CRUSHING IT Smithville!!!!

This shows us that Smithville Texas News is a company that

1. you trust

2. creates a product you actively engage with

3. has brand loyalty

It also shows us the product is not only ready to scale up, but it’s also ready to be monetized.

And that takes capital and human resources we simply don’t have right now.

We are at that painful point in a business where it’s not quite ready to financially support the owner, but the owner needs to dedicate 150% of their time on the business to finish scaling up.

Classic Kobayashi Maru.

So we are taking a page from Captain Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and are choosing to change the conditions of the test.

For starters, we’re going to explore changing to a non-profit so we can utilize grants for rural newsrooms. This has the potential to bring in much-needed funding and reduce our tax bill.

Second, we need to set up the flywheels and creator revenue streams that will help keep this business afloat. This includes an audio version of the Smithville Minute, a podcast, videos for our Municipal Math series, online community (via Circle), and potentially e-books, courses, and merchandise–some or all of which will be part of a paid subscription.

These have always been on our to-do list, but trying to juggle the weekly reporting duties, plus the logistics of setting each piece up, PLUS trying to survive is more than one person can handle alone.

Our publisher is also not ashamed to admit that she could use an operations officer to help with the roll out of these products.

Third, we consider this a community partnership. Smithville Texas News isn’t just a business. It’s a shared mission to keep our town informed and connected. We’re investing in you by delivering trusted news about our elected officials, our tax dollars, and our community’s heartbeat. But to make this sustainable, we need you to invest in us.

So far the only option we’ve given is a tip jar, and your contributions have been greatly appreciated. Our restructured company may include subscriptions, joining an online community, listening to podcasts, watching videos, purchasing sponsorships (if you’re a business), buying an e-book on a piece of Smithville history, or taking an online course about the city budget.

Every action you take—reading, sharing, contributing—builds a stronger Smithville. Together, we can create a model for rural news that other towns will envy.

Look for an update next month!