News Website Marks One Year
November 9, 2024, was the first day Barnesville Area News was posted on the group’s new website. From May 2023 until that time, weekly posts filling the void following the loss of the town’s beloved Barnesville Enterprise, were posted on Facebook or shared in an emailed report.
Groundwork for the website took place with organizational meetings and the formation of the nonprofit Barnesville Area News Company (BAN). Within weeks of incorporating the nonprofit, the Internal Revenue Service approved the group’s 501c3 tax application thanks to the expertise and donated time of both Bill Knox, local CPA, and current BAN treasurer Brock Rogers.
And on that fall Saturday as The Ohio State Buckeyes blanked the Purdue Boilermakers, 45-0, the first published posts were made on barnesvillenews.org
Here are some stats for our most recent month of activity:
Total users on the website – 10,532 who completed 46,580 page views
Email subscribers – 724, sign up for our daily email blast each morning sharing everything published in the previous 24 hours – possibly win Barnesville Gold gift certificates
Facebook followers – 2,500 and growing weekly
In the past year:
Features, articles and posts including obituaries in 12 months – over 2,000 averaging 150 a month, 38 a week
A total of 140 donors have supported BAN, including individuals, businesses, organizations and foundations.
We appreciate all the good wishes and praise and especially appreciate readers who have stepped up and donated to help pay expenses. We’ve been able to hire a contract write and continue our efforts to build Barnesville Area News. Volunteers and board members have also contributed volunteer hours valued at over $50,000.
We will soon release the first year Annual Report. For year two we plan to expand public meeting coverage beyond the village of Barnesville and propose to increase sports coverage for the Shamrocks and beyond. We also plan to seek membership to the national nonprofit news group Institute of Nonprofit News.
To accomplish this, the Board has set a goal to raise $45,000 through August 30, 2026, to continue to serve the greater Barnesville area and fulfill our mission “to continue the proud tradition of the Barnesville Enterprise keeping Barnesville and the surrounding communities informed, engaged, and connected through accurate reporting and a steadfast commitment to transparency”.
As we’ve wrap up year on on the web and move into year two, will you support our efforts with a one time or continuing monthly contribution? Find out more and make contributions here.
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