A fun way to see a twisted world

Website design By BotEap.comIn 1991, I launched a publication that was a monthly “news review” using editorial cartoons, humor columns, and a “fake news” section, ala The onion, to entertain and amuse people who were a little fed up with the bad news. The newspaper is a fun way to see the world, through the eyes of some very talented and fun writers and artists. The genesis of the newspaper was a version that was distributed free of charge and relied on local advertising in the Sacramento, California area where it all began. (I would name the post, but can’t, according to this site’s writing rules, but see info at the end of the article.)

Website design By BotEap.comThe first issue came out, appropriately enough, on April Fools’ Day. The joke, however, was not the newspaper itself, but rather the real-life politics that the publication lampoons. I had just dropped off another little post that I co-edited in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, about an hour’s drive northeast of Sacramento, and was inspired by the Santa Cruz Comic Newsanother cartoon editorial paper from Santa Cruz, California to start this one.

Website design By BotEap.comSacramento seemed like a good home for a politically humorous newspaper, as it is the state capital and a political city. The first issue, which hit the streets just after the first Gulf War, contained a brief “history” of that war, told in editorial cartoons, with accompanying “taunts” to form a narrative. It caused quite a stir and was an immediate hit among lovers of political satire in Sacramento.

Website design By BotEap.comI launched my little “rag” with some minimal loans from some friends, which gave me enough for the first impression and some expenses. I opened a small office in the basement of a bookstore whose manager appreciated the paper, and they even traded an ad in the paper for rent. I had to sign up for food stamps for the first year or so to make ends meet, so as you can imagine, it was a very limited operation. But I worked hard, pounding the pavement to sell ads, working on the phone and putting together the newspaper on a bedside table, cutting and pasting the old-fashioned way. I still couldn’t afford to hire help, but friends gave me a hand here and there and somehow I managed.

Website design By BotEap.comMonth over month, ad sales increased and the feedback I received from readers was inspiring. I was getting calls like the one from a woman who said, “I don’t smile or laugh much these days, with what’s going on in the world. But after reading your paper, it made me roar!” Those kinds of calls and letters kept me going. In fact, the paper was making quite a splash, a unique addition to the city’s culture, and even got some good press in the other monthly and weekly publications.

Website design By BotEap.comBecoming a financial success was another matter, as competition among the many small local publications was fierce. What I like to call the Great Newspaper Decline had not yet begun in earnest, but the road was still rough. Start-up articles seemed to be appearing every week, as publishing programs became widely available for personal computers, making it easy to design any little fanzine a would-be publisher could conceive of. However, it was much more difficult to support them financially.

Website design By BotEap.comEventually, after a few years, it became clear that readership was much stronger than advertising support. This may have to do with political content, as many companies avoid anything remotely “controversial.” This situation prompted me to try to promote the newspaper by subscription. After all, if readers are that excited about it, maybe a lot of them would be willing to pay for a subscription. It would also place the publication nationally, making it available anywhere in the country for the same price.

Website design By BotEap.comHowever, it seemed clear to me that people in Vermont, Florida, or Texas would have no interest in advertising locally in Sacramento. So, I decided to create a new title, which would include the same content as the original, but with more cartoons and features, to fill the gap left by advertising. I released this new version in the mid 2000’s and got a national trademark for the name to protect my investment of time and energy, not to mention money.

Website design By BotEap.comI published the two titles at the same time until the 16th anniversary edition in April 2008, when I renamed the original to match the most recent version. The content of each remained the same, the Sacramento version still ad-based and the other subscription-based. I still included the old logo prominently on the cover of the Sacramento edition, so readers wouldn’t get too confused. Still, as you can imagine, I got a lot of questions, most of them “Why did you do that?” variety.

Website design By BotEap.comI did it for various reasons. First, since I had registered the name of the national edition, I felt that it represented the future of the publication. And I wanted to build on that title as much as possible, so why not make the 100,000 local readers familiar with it? Additionally, advertising revenue had been in decline, along with the economy, for about a year, as the small businesses the paper relied on began cutting their advertising budgets. And I figured the name change would get a lot of local press, since the paper had become a local institution in those 16 years. In fact, the change drew a lot of attention from the local media, including a big article in the local newspaper. sacrament beeas well as articles in many smaller newspapers, an interview on a popular radio show, and an appearance on the local cable TV station.

Website design By BotEap.comThe idea was that media attention would increase readership and help prop up advertising. I’m sure it must have attracted some new readers, but local businesses continued to be very strict with their ad dollars. Finally, after a few more months of financial bleeding due to falling ad revenue, I decided to pull the plug on the free edition. On the cover of the last four free issues, I made it very clear how many were left and invited long-time fans of the paper to subscribe at reduced rates. Many did, but not as many as I expected. I guess it’s hard for most people to shell out money for something they’ve enjoyed for free for so long, even if they professed their love for it, and even if it was only $17.95 a year!

Website design By BotEap.comHowever, I am doing my best to stay in the public eye in Sacramento, setting up tables and booths at as many events as I can, and have now become an advertiser in the other local periodicals. When people see me at these events and pick up the free back issues I’ve published, many of them tell me they didn’t know what happened, but they missed the paper. I don’t know if they hadn’t seen the four numbers that loudly declared the end of the free edition, or if they just ignored that information. But it’s clear that people are missing out on the paper, so I’m having quite a bit of success signing up these old readers for subscriptions. The newspaper has a solid, if humble, financial foundation and is here to stay.

Website design By BotEap.comSlowly but surely, the publication continues to grow, as people from all over the world discover it and old friends renew their acquaintance. Obviously the paper could grow much faster if I could afford a huge national marketing campaign. I’m looking for investors to fund such a campaign, and my goal is to eventually match the subscription level of my only direct competition, a similar newspaper in Ohio called The fun times. It was launched as a subscription publication early on, a few years before mine, with a large sum raised in an inheritance. I think there is plenty of room in the market for another such magazine, and that paper is living proof that it can be done, and quite successfully.

Website design By BotEap.comSo for now, patience and hard work is the name of the game, doing your best to promote it on a small budget. Curious readers are invited to visit our website (link below), which includes a free PDF download of a previous issue to peruse. You can even request a free sample copy for a limited time.

Website design By BotEap.comThis election season, we’re seeing some of the best political satire in years. If you are a fan of political humor, I hope you give it a try!