2015 was an up and down year for The Minot Voice, but an important idea is getting across to many of our readers — media has a vital role in healthy communities. And healthy communities are not places where everyone always agrees with everything that’s happening. That makes 2015 a success.
But it was also a year where our growth ate itself again. Due to unforeseen circumstances and adjusted priorities, publishing in the second half of the year was hit and miss. To those loyal followers who continued to check the site only to find no recent updates — you have my apologies. The Minot Voice will do better in 2016. Specifically, here’s what we’re putting down on digital paper as goals for the next year.
We’re going to be reliable. Tuesday through Saturday, there will be new content on the site. We’ll get back to summarizing the daily news and bringing back local-interest content from outside sources.
We’re going to become viable. Thus far, The Minot Voice a long way from becoming the financially stable business it needs to become. But there is something here, and 2016 will be the year we finally crack the business nut. Keep an eye out for new business publishers and advertising on the Internet that you won’t hate.
We’re going to become a Team. Well, more of a team. A special thanks are owed to Jim Maxson and Dylan Lee at Budget Music & Video for being regular contributors in 2015. But in 2016, we’re going to build on our good start. We’ll be adding more business publishers, more community contributors, and when we’re viable, a reporter or two.
The Daily Quotes will be back — Weekly. We started 2015 with a new quote every day. That proved too ambitious. In 2016, we’ll be offering a dose of wisdom, perspective, or local-interest commentary on a weekly basis. Look for it starting today at the top of the home page. Our first quote of the year is a helpful one for all of you making your resolutions and goals for the year ahead.
We’re going to get the classifieds going. There are a lot of unused tools on The Minot Voice, but the classifieds are our highest priority. There’s no reason Minot’s local trading place should be under a Bisman banner.
We’re going to continue to rely on our guiding principles. Check them out here.
We’re going to stay on the issues that matter in Minot. We’ve got a few ideas of our own, but your voice is important too. So help us out, tell us what matters in Minot in 2016 by sharing your thoughts in the first part of our State of Minot survey.
