We offer a job opportunity running on-line news service

“Take this job and shove it… I ain’t workin’ here no more.”

Anybody out there interested in operating an on-line local news service? I, David T. Young, am preparing to call it quits with Townbroadcast after more than 13 years.

But before I ride off into the sunset, I want to be certain to make this job opportunity available to anyone interested in taking on the challenge. The good news is there is no cost. The bad news is there is no revenue, at least not yet. I’ve been doing this gratis for all these years, and I got the biggest kick out of being the only game in town, a news desert.

Because I had no boss telling me what to write, when to write it and how to write it, I made this a fiercely independent publication.

Oh, to be sure, I am personally what Army Bob calls “A Proud Liberal.” But I’ve tried to let conservative voices be read as well.

I do have a few advertisers you can see on the web site, and to them I extend my deepest thanks for their support. None of them have ever told me what I can write. Readers must be aware that “lamestream media” is beholden to advertisers and owners. For example, the Grand Rapids Press never dared to cross the DeVos and VanAndel families, nor did ABC present a discouraging word about Disney.

“In a totalitarian country you can’t criticize the government. In a corporate state you can’t offend the sponsor.” Kalle Lasn, “Adbusters.”

But I’m growing old and some suggest I’ve lost whatever newsgathering and writing talent I may have had. I don’t hear as well as I used to. And one newsmaker told me candidly, “Frankly, Dave, we’d rather you not show up to our meetings.”

Even worse, I was told by a friend that I should refrain from endorsing political candidates because then the conservative majority in these parts would promptly vote the other way.

Anyone interested in taking over would be encouraged to cover municipal meetings, developing news and even some sporting events in the same geographic area the Wayland Globe covered since 1884. Anyone interested should be more adept in marketing and advertising. I was so pathetic I couldn’t even interest community-minded entities such as the Gun Lake Casino, Harding’s Market, Robinson Dental and United Bank.

My biggest regrets were making enemies of people when I published the truth and what I will do with myself without Townbroadcast. I took this on after I retired because I didn’t want to spend my Golden Years in front of a TV set waiting to die. In a nutshell, I wanted to be useful to myself and the community.

“The carnival is over. We may never meet again.” — The Seekers