Got a minute?

For nearly 10 years, I have blogged about the village, mostly as a commentary on various aspects of life in Buffalo Grove and, of course, various governmental agencies.

            In addition to the actions and controversies that I’ve seen while attending most of the Village Board meetings, I have had the opportunity to learn about and meet some of the residents who have addressed or been cited by the Board. Some of their stories are amazing.

            Unfortunately, many of the stories about village residents and organizations go untold.

            Why? Because changes in newspapers over the past decade, if not more, have impacted news consumers at all levels.

            Community newspapers are no exception.  This, of course, includes media outlets that serve (or try to) Buffalo Grove. Gone are the days when there actually was community news in the Countryside, the Daily Herald and the Journal-Topics) on a regular basis.

            While some of the aforementioned news outlets will cover "major" news stories (on a somewhat regular basis, news about the various organizations, churches, synagogues, clubs, Scout troops – and truly interesting people -- seem to have gone by the wayside.

            That does not mean there is not an interest in community news.  There is. Unfortunately, local news consumers seem reluctant to seek it out unless it's easily accessible. Over the past several months I have posted simple posts as a way to highlight events and general news from the village. To my surprise, there seems to be interest in this as the number of hits is surprisingly high. 

            Here’s where you – yes you – come in.

            Seeing that there is some interest in what's happening in the village via non-sponsored sites (as in the village web site, school websites, etc.), I am mulling over the possibility of starting a “hyper local” Buffalo Grove news blog. In a perfect world, it would be a community news site where the focus would be on community. The reason is simple -- There are a lot of great stories to be told about organizations and residents in Buffalo Grove.

            This is not a new idea by a long shot.  I have discussed this with people who post and/or distribute news to see what platforms they use and their methods of posting news (use of links, original copy, cut and paste, etc.).

            The first step, however, is to get an idea if there’s an interest.

            Again, here’s where you come in. I want your input on this idea.  All you need to do is go to complete a short simple at this link: News Survey.

            I’ll be discussing my ideas with officials at various governmental agencies (the village, school districts, park district, etc.) for their input.  In the meantime, your input will help.

            Thanks!