Who, what, when and where
The population of Whiteville is 5,148 (2,253 male and 2,895 female). This is important because it shows us what size of audience we're working with. BUT NOTE ...
The News Reporter is the official paper for all of Columbus County. This is important because is shows that the paper probably also serves surrounding towns in the county.
The average age in Whiteville is 41, which is above the national average. Twenty percent of the population is over 65. This is important because older people are less familiar with the Internet and thus online news will need to be easy to navigate and understand.
The two most-represented races in the county are white and black/African-American, with 61 percent and 37 percent respectively. Only 4 percent of people speak a language other than English outside in their households. This is important because it shows that the community is not extremely diverse, so we won't have to pay a lot of special attention to other ethnicity and racial groups.
The population over 25 is 3,489. Out of those people, 75 percent have completed high school and 23 percent have a bachelor's degree, which is close to the national average. This is important because it shows that the audience probably has an average intelligence, meaning the news should be presented in neither an overly-intellectual or a dumbed-down way. It is important to note, however, that there is still a high drop-out rate, meaning many young people may not care to be informed about news.
The percentage of people in the labor force is 52 percent. The average household income is $25,455 (the average family income is $34,128), which is far below the national average. Below the poverty level, there are 254 families and 1,360 individuals. This is important because it shows that many people may not have the extra money to buy a newspaper or to have Internet in their homes.
The closest "big city" to Whiteville is Wilmington, which is about an hour away. This is important because we should note that people may often travel there for entertainment, etc.
There are 1,332 people who "like" The News Reporter Facebook page. This is important because it shows that several readers do have an online presence.
Things I don't know but want to know
It would be important to know how knowledgeable The News Reporter staff is about online news. I will try to find that information by simply asking staff members what they know about online news and how it works.
It would be important to know who the advertisers are currently and which advertisers would be interested in pursuing online advertising. It will also be important to figure out the best way to generate revenue from this advertisers. I will try to find that information by looking at the current paper and current site, talking to businesses around the area and looking at research about how other online newspapers generate ad revenue.
It would be important to know how the paper currently engages people in community building. I will try to find that information by interviewing people in the community.
It will be important to know how advanced the paper's site already is and what can be improved. I will try to find that information by reviewing the site in-depth and by asking people in the community.
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