Lots of food for thought here.

I’m working on a new kind of website that, through a business and community led campaign can produce ad free local community news as a structured, valued product.

I think tweaking of the grass roots business model is needed so that we get a real idea of ‘cost’ and ‘value’ at the most basic level for sole traders, small businesses and local neighbourhoods.

It’s hard, patient, difficult work but someone should be doing it with the belief that neighbourhood stereotyping, the use of small businesses as free sheet cash cows is actually bad for economic development.

(Paul Bradshaw gave me your name). The blogspot I’ve given you is only a thinking page… I post only now and then on it while developing this idea which really comes from the perspective of the ‘reader’, the ‘expert amateur armchair journalist’ which I think is a large constituency (even though we have social networking, blogs, twitter and websites). These people I think, are really up for seeing change on their doorsteps: a way of connecting to the past and the present that makes sense to them, that they can feel is worth reading and contributing to.

What do you think?