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By LaVarr Webb
Today marks the 50th edition of Agenda
Utah. It's actually not that great an accomplishment, considering
we publish every business day. But we've been going for about 2
1/2 months now and it's time to catch our breath for a moment and
share a few thoughts about what we think we're doing. We've also
published below some of the comments we've received about Agenda
Utah.
First, readers should know this is very
much a spare-time, late night/early morning endeavor. Those who
publish the newsletter have full-time jobs as government relations
and public relations consultants. So we're not able to devote a
great deal of time and effort to Agenda Utah.
It's also harder than it looks to publish
something like this every business day. The content, production
and technology have all been difficult to get right and we're still
working out bugs. Please be patient and be advised that we do have
bigger and better things in mind for the future.
For the most part, we're aggregators,
not originators, of political information. The state's newspapers
and broadcast outlets do a good job of covering Utah politics. We're
simply providing a service so you can find it all in one spot. And,
of course, we can't resist doing a little reporting and commentary
of our own. But we're not trying to be journalists (we don't have
the time), and we encourage everyone to read a good daily newspaper
to be well-rounded on current events. What we produce is a highly
specialized electronic newsletter for a relatively small, but important,
audience.
I am frequently asked two questions:
1. “Why are you doing this?” 2. “What's the business model?”
I suppose I'm doing this because:
- It's kinda fun. My partners at The
Exoro Group accuse me of being obsessed with writing and publishing,
and there's some truth to that. I enjoy having an outlet for some
of my thoughts.
- It provides a channel to promote the
consulting services of The Exoro Group. We haven't done much of
that, but might do so in the future.
- It provides a channel to Utah's policymakers
and opinion leaders that is useful to our clients.
The answer to the second question is:
I don't know if there's a business model. There may be a way for
Agenda Utah to be self-sufficient and break even,
but it's clearly not a big money-maker.
The only way to bring in revenue is
to charge a subscription price or to sell advertising or sponsorships.
I believe the content would have to be improved quite a bit to sell
subscriptions.
It's possible the newsletter could be
an attractive channel for associations, businesses or organizations
that need to deliver messages to policymakers and opinion leaders.
It is currently being sent to about 4,000 people each working day,
most of whom are elected or appointed officials, business and civic
leaders, and other people highly interested in politics.
We will likely periodically publish
some persuasive op-ed type articles on behalf of clients, and will
label them as such when we do.
We are committed to keeping AgendaUtah
going, and we have a lot of ideas for improvement. Please send us
your thoughts and suggestions. We need feedback from readers.
Comments From Readers
“Thanks for editorially fighting the good fight.”
“So, why do you suppose the (newsletter) has the links for the
Deseret News but not for the Tribune?”
“I enjoy reading your opinions - especially yesterday's about D-Day
and the death of Pres. Reagan. I wonder why every American
does not feel such a deep sense of gratitude and emotion for those
who have given us their lives, that we might live in such a wonderful
country of opportunity. Keep writing.”
“Thanks for UtahPolicy.com. It's a great way for me to keep abreast
of all the statewide issues.”
“I appreciate your daily briefing. It is important to the public
and the press. As a political writer, I am grateful for this
update.”
“Congratulations to UtahPolicy.com and The Exoro Group on such
a timely web publication! It is one of the most balanced and
helpful sites I have come across to keep me quickly and comprehensively
informed about the Utah political scene and political issues facing
our state and the taxpayer. Keep up the great work.”
“Hello. Thank You for information on political events, candidates,
and news worth reading about. One thing that frosted me was the
statement that people who are not religious vote Democratic. That
is far from the truth. I know of many Christian individuals, myself
being one of them, who are very Democratic. It is sad that
people are influenced by a leader, or they think being Religious
and Republican puts them one step closer to God.”
“I just wanted to let you know your product is the best email I
get each day! Congrats on a great site that others throughout
the country should envy and want to duplicate. Thanks for your service!”
“I like getting Agenda Utah because of the quick
links to the important stories... I don't have enough time
(unfortunately) to physically open up the paper each morning and
read through all the headlines and stories. I also like being
able to read "both sides," i.e. what the News and the Trib both
have to say about the same stories. So I see this as a great
service you are providing. Keep up the great work.”
“I enjoy reading your daily newsletters. On the whole, you are
balanced in your approach. . . . However, recently I have been detecting
a growing pro-Republican and anti-Democratic bias in the substance
of the newsletter. It is not large, but it is increasingly apparent.
. . . Obviously you have the right to run your newsletter as you
wish. However, in order to have the broadest possible audience,
it would be wisest to either remain neutral on policy content or
to balance. One way to balance would be to add a regular column
writer who is a Democrat - in fact even alternate such columns every
other day. That way you appeal to all of your audience and not just
the Republicans.”
“I really enjoy getting this. It helps me keep up on things,
even when I'm out of state.”
“This is the third time I have sent in my compliments. I love the
Daily Agenda and forward it to all my friends....I find it interesting,
entertaining, and informative. I know it's a lot of work but you
make it look easy. Congrats...”
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