BJ Murphy: The Evolution of Neuse News - Five Years of Local Impact
RSVP to our free five-year celebration below.
As I stroll down Queen St., looking back on the five-year journey of Neuse News, I'm struck by the crucial role we've come to play in our community. When we embarked on this venture, we were simply a group of friends concerned by the glaring absence of local news reporting and community relevance. We noticed a lack of accountability for public officials and a lack of accessible information for our neighbors.
In starting Neuse News, we didn't claim to be seasoned journalists or skilled videographers. We were merely a group of individuals who recognized a need and resolved to meet it. Our objective? To keep our community informed, to serve as a reliable filter for news, and to accurately represent our community. Through our publication, social media presence, website, newsletter, and breaking news text alerts, we've aimed to counteract the decline of corporately-owned print news and provide a trusted news source for our community.
Our annual election night results show continues to be one of our most popular livestreams each year.
The struggle of traditional print news to adapt to the rise of social media spurred us into action. I recall asking ourselves, "If we don't do it, who will?" This question motivated us to apply the knowledge we gained from developing Magic Mile Media and adventuring into the social media landscape to an industry like the news.
My experience as the former Mayor of Kinston, especially during the trying times of two hurricanes, drove home the critical need for timely and accurate news dissemination. The inadequate coverage during these crisis periods further emphasized the necessity for a dedicated local news source and was a significant impetus behind the creation of Neuse News.
Assistant Publisher Kristy Kelly questions Gov. Roy Cooper in Kinston.
We acknowledged that the conventional print media model was becoming obsolete. The extended duration between drafting a story, formatting, printing, and distributing it meant that the news was often stale when someone retrieved a newspaper. Recognizing this, we committed to being accurate and fast, in that order. This approach allowed us to bypass the bureaucratic hurdles that kept the local news industry from maintaining relevance.
At Neuse News, we've established ourselves as a trusted source that filters and disseminates information in real-time. We can go live, send a breaking news text alert, post to social media, and even offer a free morning newsletter for those who prefer a once-a-day news update. From our inception, we've been committed to providing our subscribers with free, local news. Despite suggestions to the contrary, we believed that implementing a subscription fee would obstruct our growth and ability to embed ourselves in the community as a trusted source.
We love pouring into our youth whether through our summer internship program or speaking to classes.
We've been fortunate to receive support from business leaders and organizations within our community who acknowledge the value of a trusted digital news service. Their support has been vital to our operations, as it does require resources to report, publish, share, and post the news. But the remarkable thing is, it doesn't take a fortune to make it happen.
Looking back on these five years, we take pride in our impact and are eager to continue serving our community in the years ahead. On June 27th, we can all say, “Happy Anniversary, Neuse News!” Thank you for supporting us and your community.