Print media is dying. You don’t have to follow publishing trends to know this fact. Since 2004, 1,800 newspapers have shuttered. It’s tragic because while many small-town papers were nothing more than glorified newsletters, and our media, in general, has long had a whitewashing/corporation problem, they were run by professionals, i.e., not some lady in her basement convincing your great aunt that Hillary Clinton eats babies (if you want some scary/enlightening insights into how Facebook clickbait farms operate, I implore you to listen to the October 31, 2018 episode of The Daily).
The Asheville Citizen-Times is Asheville’s newspaper. When I subscribed, it cost me $1.00 for a yearly subscription, a small price to pay to support an endangered member of the print media. I urge you get a subscription too. Because newspapers are endangered institutions critical for keeping the country honest? Sure, but mostly because then you could get behind the paywall and witness me bring my obsession with pointing out Madison Cawthorn’s ineptitude to a broader audience.
On October 3, I wrote an op-ed explaining why 11th District voters are too smart to let Madison Cawthorn use them.
On October 17th, I pivoted slightly and talked about the importance of school board elections, which wasn’t about Madison, though he has a cameo.
On October 24, I was back to my regularly scheduled bullshint, spelling out how Madison claims to rally against the elites, which only raises his profile and profitability (aka, makes him even more elite).
On November 21, fake news was the target.
On November 28, it was less Madison and more an examination of the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict.
December 5th was about how Madison doesn’t even understand his job.
December 26th was taking aim on the anti-mask/anti-abortion crowd, and just last week, I wrote a piece about how #BlueLivesMatter regulars reacted to the insurrection.
Will I continue? Probably. I rant a lot on Facebook, and this seems far more productive. I also think local papers are often the way to go in terms of actually changing people’s minds and reaching a more bipartisan audience—the Washington Post or Wall Street journal are often just yelling into an echo chamber (also, big LOL to myself for intimating that these are options for me).
So, please, join me in supporting the threatened press that’s done so much for our country, and in doing so, help me support my goal of raising my profile, byline by byline.
AshevilleExplorer 
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