In light of the assembly’s ouster of Deborah Schnabel, I would like to thank Kyle Clayton and the rest of the staff at Chilkat Valley News for their work over the last several years. I am a literary individual, and have followed your work with an eye for both content and journalistic utility. Now, after the assembly’s recent actions, there is a very easy way for me to both congratulate you on your efforts, and offer some token literary advice – totally free of charge – as an expression of my gratitude.
My literary and entrepreneurial advice for the CVN:
Relegate all assembly meetings and quotes of assembly members to animal cartoons on the back page. Put all quotes originating from the Haines Police Department on the second-to-last page, side-by-side with the relevant passage from Machievelli. Each month, choose a “shadow assembly” composed of locals, have them advance and discuss their best and most creative ideas for bringing resources to Haines and improving the economy, and publish these debates on the front page.
Three easy steps, and look at that: The CVN is still the most interesting paper in Alaska, but now for a good reason. Your readership will go up. You can sell a second edition outside of Haines, selling ads to businesses that ship or sell online (marketing it as an entertainment product /how-to guide for fighting corruption). Who knows? You could even win a Pulitzer.
My two cents.
Chris Palmisano