As of December 18, 2024 I have not accepted any advertising on the Baltimore Informer. There are a few reasons for that.
Number one, the goal of this local news site is truthful reporting. Advertisers assert control on news departments and by not accepting ads, writers for this news organization (currently, that’s just yours truly but applications are open) have true freedom of the press.
Number two, the clutter. Too many news sites are covered in advertisements. Sure, internet users can use browser ad-blocker extensions but they don’t always work. But it’s the necessary evil of the modern journalism business.
I blame Craigslist, Facebook and Google for destroying local news’ income. I’m not alone in this thinking. Where did businesses and individuals used to advertise their services and goods before the internet? Local newspapers! Did these big tech California based companies care about local news? Absolutely not.
Number three, Russian Bots. This is not a joke and it’s a big problem for analytics. Analytics are the primary piece of data news sales people show to potential and current advertisers to convince them to purchase ads. Virtual Private Network applications make it nearly impossible to track where web page views are truly coming from. Take a look at this screen capture of behind the scenes action:
This small news web site, that has been active for a little over a year, has over 2,480 comments. Mostly from Russian bots. It’s why I no longer allow comments on articles! It would be a part time job moderating them.
To be clear, those are all represent fake views. Fake views that advertisers would have to pay for/waste money on. It’s why big news organizations like the Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Banner offer low priced $1 per month digital subscriptions…because at least those subscribers are real, mostly local human beings.
Number four, The Baltimore County Informer is not a well known brand yet. I haven’t gotten the word out and it wouldn’t make sense to even try to find sponsors. I may start placing some ads for my tape digitizing/videography business though.
That’s it for now…more articles coming soon!
Comments intentionally left open. Bring it on, Russian Bots!!!