In August, the Journal Sentinel published a story, Liberal ‘news’ websites launching in Wisconsin, where conservative versions have thrived. (From the viewpoint of the JS, these are ‘news’ sites not news sites, as the paper is suspicious of non-traditional reporting. Without seeing some of the online publications, however, the scare quotes seem presumptuous.)
These months later, only one of the publications described in the story is now online. (The Wisconsin Examiner has been up from months.)
Of the others, For What It’s Worth Media is still hiring, and American Ledger does not have (and perhaps never intended to have) a dedicated Wisconsin site.
If a publication’s not online by now, it’s already late to the game. Wisconsin will see local elections, a Wisconsin Supreme Court race, a presidential primary, a presidential convention, and state and federal elections this year.
The Wisconsin Examiner was online last summer, and any publication jumping into the fray now will have a hard time getting traction. Being noticed is only part of what’s needed; it’s most important to know they lay of the land.
This will be a challenging year for Wisconsin and America, requiring industry and tenacity.
Those who aren’t here yet have probably waited too long.