Sooo…I started a newspaper

By Jason Lewis
Los Angeles Standard Publisher

The newspaper industry is dying, but here I am starting a new publication, and I’m actually going to print it.  This may seem like it has ‘poor life decision’ written all over it, but it’s bound to work…right?

Well I believe it’s going to work.  After 10 years of working for other publications, I feel that I can produce a high quality product that the community can appreciate.  

I’m extremely excited about the Standard, because as the publisher, I finally have control over the content.  I want this publication to be extraordinary, but working for other newspapers, where I had little to no control over content, my ideas of what extraordinary is was not going to happen.

I was not running the show, so my ideas were just ideas.  As great as I believed them to be, I was not the managing editor, and I did not run those newspapers.  My ideas were not in line with the people above me.  So it’s time to do my own thing.

The Standard is going to be based in the community.  It’s going to tell the story of the people and activities that happen in this area.  That’s not lip service.  The only way to cover this community is to actually get out in the field and produce original work.  Flip through the 12 pages of the first edition of the paper, or click on there articles here on the Standard's website, and notice that there are not any press releases, or content that can be found in other publications.  Each article was written for the Standard, and for the people in the areas that the Standard will serve.

The goal is to have every issue filled with original content.  Articles will feature people, businesses, and organizations that you are familiar with, and events that you can participate in.  And each article will feature engaging photographs.  I feel that each page is a piece of art, and I want it to be appealing to the eye.  

Putting together this first issue was pretty awesome.  I met with a number interesting people who live, work, and grew up right in our community.  Dorsey High School’s baseball team pretty much ran student government, and now their key players are off to college.  There is a six-story hole under Crenshaw Blvd, and hardly anybody knows it.  Don’t worry, Metro has made it safe to drive down the street.  The Alphas are making a huge difference with middle school and high school boys, as they are preparing them to not only go to college, but also finish. Who knew that there was Yoga on Crenshaw Blvd?  Should we really be concerned about gentrification?  Probably, but no need to panic.  There are young small business owners who are thriving after receiving assistance from West Angeles Church.  Live jazz in LA is awesome, and you can hear it for free.  The LAPD is has connected with some, but not all.

There is an endless supply of amazing stories that are happening in the community, and the Standard aims to tell as many of those stories as possible.  This is a free paper, and all I need from you, the public, is to pick it up.  And go to the website and click on the stories.  That’s it.  That will allow the paper to thrive and stay in existence.  It is my job to create relevant content that is geared toward this community, and I just need you to pick it up.