Atlantic City Focus: A real life story of destiny, desire and determination!
I awoke from the dream shaken, but not frightened. There it was, emblazoned upon the background of my mind — again.
Atlantic City Focus — If it’s important to you, it’s important to us!
That has been my recurring dream since I was a sophomore in college. As my 50th birthday neared, the dream began to materialize more vividly, come more frequently, almost beckoning me to let it out.
I listened.
I opened the file I had been saving for the last 30 years, reviewed the sketches and revisited the plan. I Googled “newspaper grants” and came upon a call for applications to become part of the Tiny News Collective. I read the material, consumed everything I could about it. And when I saw the deadline, I knew it was time.
The deadline for submissions was my 50th birthday.
I prepared the application, thinking carefully about how the news organization must take shape. The application questions helped me focus my thoughts and refine my objectives.
Where are you seeking to create a news organization and why?
Why do you want to start a news organization?
How do you define good journalism?
Tell us about a time you’ve built something from scratch or work that you are particularly proud of?
How do you see your previous experiences informing your plan for your news organization?
It was as though the publication already knew about the application and wanted to be part of the process but needed me to connect them. I did.
Once I answered those questions, I knew that Atlantic City Focus was much closer to becoming a reality. I became part of the TNC and began building the online website www.atlanticcityfocus.com.
Atlantic City Focus provides a safe space where residents and natives can tell their own stories in their own way. We enlighten, inform, and entertain as we celebrate African American culture, history, and traditions. And although the African American community is our primary focus, we will cover positive news and events from every segment of the community regardless of race, gender, ethnicity and orientation.
Then, I learned about the City University of New York’s Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program from my mentor Krystal Knapp of Planet Princeton. She encouraged me to take the 100-day class, and I am so glad that I did. I got an opportunity to learn alongside an international cohort of journalists preparing to impact the journalism community and change lives through their projects. And I am now a proud member of the CUNY journalism community, which actually feels like a professional extended family.
I also got connected with the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium and the Center for Cooperative Media. They believed in the vision and put money behind it.
As I forge ahead, helping the universe give birth to the publication that came to me in my dreams so many years ago, what’s left now is to carve out a path to sustainability.
Our primary source of revenue comes from a donation model, but our news organization will ultimately exist based on a unique mix of affordable advertising and support from our readers.
How can you help?
We need and welcome donations.
We also need and welcome volunteers. If you have always dreamed of being a columnist or contributing writer, we’ll do our best to find a space for you. If you’re a retired line editor just looking for a place where people respect your work, we’re here for that. And if you always wanted to help build something new, we welcome you to build alongside us.
We’re excited about where we are and what we’re doing. We invite you to take a look at our site and see for yourself by clicking here. Then let us know what you think. I can personally be reached at Marktyler@atlanticcityfocus.com.
Thanks for reading the whole story!
At Atlantic City Focus, we’re committed to providing a platform where the diverse voices of our community can be heard, respected, and celebrated. As an independent online news platform, we rely on the support of readers like you to continue delivering quality, community journalism that matters. By donating today, you become a catalyst for change helping to amplify the authentic voices that might otherwise go unheard. And no contribution is too small, $5, even $1 is appreciated. Join us in making a difference — one uplifting story at a time!
