John Krull
Dean Of Franklin College School Of Journalism
Franklin, TN
John Krull,
The purpose of this letter is to serve as an introduction to the history of operations of the City-County Observer, which has served the people of Vanderburgh County, Indiana over the last 20 years. We have highlighted some of our most impactful reporting that has saved the people of Vanderburgh County tens of millions of dollars by avoiding both governmental actions and utility rate increases.
The report on the history of the City-County Observer is attached as a part of this document and addresses our philosophy, financial results and expansion opportunities
We are most certainly looking forward to your presentation at our upcoming annual community achievement award luncheon on November 3, 2022 at Bally’s Casino in downtown Evansville.
We are honored by your acceptance and truly look forward to making your acquaintance.
We anticipate much mutual benefit in the future.
Best Regards,
Ron H. Cosby, CEO
City-County Observer
Overview Of The City-County Observer Vanderburgh County, Indiana
Mission:
The mission of the City-County Observer is to serve the local community by reporting news built on honesty, trust, and journalistic integrity. The publication is designed to provide readers with the information they need to live safer and more enriched lives. It is a Beacon of Light for the Community with a continuous focus on good public policy.
Description:
For more than twenty (20) years, the City-County Observer has served Evansville and Southwest Indiana by reporting on issues and events that shape the lives of our citizens. The publication is built on the cornerstones of service and trust. It is nonpartisan with consistent and objective reporting. While our goal is to educate and inform, the publication also serves as a community watchdog by sounding the alarm whenever citizens’ rights and welfare are in danger of being violated by our elected and appointed officials, businesses, and/or large corporations. We encourage our elected and appointed officials to consider the welfare of the citizens and the community. We understand that a community cannot have a greater ambassador of goodwill than one that keeps its citizens informed about the accomplishments, failures, and triumphs of their elected and appointed officials.
The City-County Observer is published daily online and mobile and monthly in print monthly at no cost. Our monthly print papers are available in many locations throughout Evansville/Vanderburgh County at no cost. Our publication is solely supported by local advertising.
The Rationale For Publishing The City-County Observer:
It is widely believed that there is a major void for accurate, truthful, and nonpartisan news throughout the United States and this need has never been more evident than now.
It is a known fact that national newspaper conglomerates have put their shareholder’s financial interests and ideological dogma over providing their readers with accurate and unbiased news.
Based upon the above premise we decided to create a locally-owned community newspaper that reports the news and does not engage in publishing unvetted rumors as though it was accurate news.
It is also widely believed that most of the national media have forgotten their commitment to serve as a guiding light to report both truthful, accurate, and non-biased news. It is very important to stress that the City-County Observer respects and honors the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for the for a redress of grievances.” Also, let us not forget that “When people Fear The Government There Is Tyranny But When The Government Fear The People There Is Liberty!” (Thomas Jefferson)
Example of City-County Observer’s Success In Exposing Bad Public Policy And Financial Corruption
A. The City-County Observer was informed by several civic-minded individuals that local elected officials were ready to invest in a very questionable and non-vetted business venture known as Earthcare Energy Corporation. Earthcare Energy Corporation promised our elected officials to manufacture a device that uses a natural gas pipeline pressure reduction valve to generate power. The City-County Observer proved that this device was not patented as it was represented to be and not proven to be commercially feasible. Furthermore, we exposed the reality that the Earthcare Energy Corporation owner’s and manager’s commitment to our elected officials was hyped beyond reasonable expectations for a technically informed professional. The City of Evansville elected officials stated that the city would provide a five (5) million dollar loan to Earthcare Energy Corporation and pay for its rent at the location of an abandoned factory at the Evansville Airport./. State incentives also include one (1) million in tax credits for the Earthcare Energy business venture
When all was said and done, the majority of the Evansville City Council members voted (in a split vote) to advance Earthcare Energy Corporation a sum of $250,000 in seed money to begin this project. Three (3) months after receiving the $250,000 startup money from the City of Evansville Earthcare Energy Corporation left town without meeting any of the commitments concerning this bogus startup business venture.
The majority of the elected officials who did not heed the City-County Observer’s advice concerning this failed business venture either did not run for reelection or were defeated in their reelection bids.
Attached below is an example of a recurring column that the City-County Observer publishes to expose inappropriate decisions and questionable public policy actions that are being considered by our elected officials.
We hope that today’s “IS IT TRUE” will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address rationally and responsibly.
City-County Observer Comment Policy. Be kind to people. No personal attacks or harassment will be tolerated and will be removed from our site.”
We understand that sometimes people don’t always agree and discussions may become a little heated. The use of offensive language and insults against commenters will not be tolerated and will be removed from our site.
Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of our advertisers.
IS IT TRUE that we have been told by reliable sources that members of the Evansville City Council have signed a contract with “Main Street Communications” for a redistricting study at projected costs of $40,000 to $50,000? …we have been told by reliable sources that members of the Evansville City Council could have asked Linda Freeman, Vanderburgh Co Surveyor to do the redistricting work for the city at little or no cost to the taxpayers.
IS IT TRUE that according to a statement posted on the “Main Street Communication” website, this consulting firm works for Democratic candidates around the nation to get them elected? …that the website of “MAIN STREET COMMUNICATIONS also states that “They Make Smart, Strategic, Award WinningTV And Radio Ads For Disciplined Democratic Campaigns”? …since the majority of the members of the Evansville City Council voted to hire “Main Street Communication” to do the “Redistricting” plan for the City Of Evansville we decided to visit their website to review the section reserved for “Redistricting” services offered by this firm but the section couldn’t be pulled up? …that we considered this inappropriate public policy when an elected governmental body uses tax dollars to hire a firm that is openly politically partisan?
IS IT TRUE that we are told the Republication candidate for Mayor of Evansville in 2023, Cheryl Musgrave’s political campaign coffers is approaching the $350,000 range?
IS IT TRUE that we are told that several members of the Evansville City Council, many taxpayers, and a former member of the Evansville Parks Board are extremely upset that the City Parks have not been maintained properly over the last several years?
IS IT TRUE we wonder if you would build a new home and had no clear-cut idea of what the final costs would be. …we also wonder if you wanted to purchase a new car and didn’t have any concrete idea of the total costs of the car would you buy it? …we also wonder how members of the Evansville Parks and Recreation Department Board can decide to build “24 Pickleball Courts” at Wesselman Park without having detailed financial costs for phases 1 and 2 of the project.
IS IT TRUE that we have been told by reliable sources that Helfrich Golf Course has been closed for several weeks due to the grass on the putting green dying because of a lack of water caused by a malfunctioning sprinkler system?
IS IT TRUE that we have been told by members of the Mole Nation that many Evansville City Employees were taken aback when they heard that a few members of the Evansville City Council may have been considering giving themselves, the Mayor, and a few select city employees a big salary increase for the upcoming budget year? …we have been told that many city employees are extremely pleased that City Council members Justin Elpers and Jonathon Weaver spearheaded the effort to help stop any future discussions of excessive pay raises for the 2023 budget year?
IS IT TRUE that we were just informed that the City Engineer recently resigned from his position to take a job in the private sector? …that an employee from the Water And Sewer replaced him?
IS IT TRUE that the word gentrification is being bantered about like a weapon?…what gentrification refers to is the mass change in the rental units in a certain area being converted from government-subsidized housing to housing that the new residents pay for themselves?…gentrification is something that cities and counties hope for but sometimes it strikes fear into the hearts and minds of the people who are being displaced?
IS IT TRUE the only problem with gentrification is that it displaces people who have been getting subsidies and who may not have the ability to get by without a housing subsidy?…gentrification has been known to grow homelessness?…in some cases like East Palo Alto, CA gentrification has been an overwhelming success in uplifting the area?…in the liberal bastion of Santa Monica it leads to the city using its laws to round up the homeless and put them on Greyhound busses and give them a one-way ticket to Phoenix, therefore exporting their problem to another state?
IS IT TRUE that we have been told that County Commissioner Ben Shoulders recently hosted his annual golf outing while he was home sick with COVID-19? …we find it impressive that during his illness he secured over forty (40) golf foursomes for this annual political fundraising event. …that this event also attracted an extremely diverse crowd?
IS IT TRUE that we would like to give five (5) cheers to Vanderburgh County Coroner Steven W. Lockyear for doing an incredible job for the taxpayers of this community?
IS IT TRUE that the City-County Observer newspaper is a proud supporter of our law enforcement?
IS IT TRUE that everyone has a right to their opinions even if they are wrong?
IS IT TRUE when the people fear the Government we have Tyranny? …when the Government fears the people we have liberty?
IS IT TRUE our “READERS POLLS” are non-scientific but trendy?
Positive and Significant Articles that have been Published Throughout the Years
FUTURE PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES :
From day one the City-County Observer has maintained that City-County Observer would remain a “Home Owned Home Grown, Locally Owned Nonpartisan” newspaper.
We have always believed that there would be an opportunity to expand our publishing business model into different markets of all sizes. The City-County Observer is at a point for us to consider a reasonable and affordable expansion into adjoining countries and other regions of Indiana.
We Envision That Some Of the Expansion Opportunities For The City-County Observer could include but not be limited to the following:
- Expansion of the City-County Observer in the adjoining counties such as Posey, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, and Gibson.
- Expansion of the City-County Observer to additional metropolitan areas in Indiana that are currently considered to be “News Deserts”.
- The City-County Observer could expand its operations to the Franklin College School of Journalism. We believe that the City-County Observer and Franklin College School of Journalism could create an educational consortium that would allow the Franklin College School of Journalism students the opportunity for classroom instruction while offering students additional independent for-hire writing opportunities.
- It is our preference that the City-County Observer would entertain and consider partnerships or joint ventures with either nonprofit or for-profit ventures headed by individuals willing to invest in a sister publication of the City-County Observer to serve the 91 countries in Indiana. Our preference is to publish the City-County Observer in rural communities that are considered “News Deserts” throughout Indiana.
CURRENT OPERATIONS TEAM MAKEUP:
The City-County Observer operates with a small staff that includes the following:
Ron Cosby-Publisher and CEO
Marilyn Cosby-Assistant Publisher-Secretary and Treasurer
Johnny Kincaid, Jay Young, Michael Daughtery, Dannie McIntire Contributing Writer
We have one hundred forty-seven (147) independent contributors of content so we can keep our readers informed about local happenings. Some of these contributors choose to remain anonymous and we honor their wishes. These contributors are a critical component of our “IS IT TRUE” section and the investigative articles that help us expose unethical behavior and bad public policy of our elected and appointed officials.
The information that is provided by our Independent Contributors, helps us ensure that our readers clearly understand that the City-County Observers’ mission is to influence good public policy at all times.
The City-County Observer is fortunate to be a media partner with the Franklin College StateHouse Files Group. This publishing and marketing partnership is an important component of attracting and maintaining a new readership so they will continue to read the City-County Observer.
During the last twenty (20) years, the City-County Observer has built a phenomenal network of local businesses, not-for-profit groups, entertainment venues, schools and colleges, and local and state law enforcement agencies, political individuals, and organizations that provide our publication with daily up-to-date breaking news and informative articles.
The City-County Observer also has many engaged citizens from our local community who provide our publication with content and articles of significance throughout the year.
Financial Philosophy (Explaining the financial status of the City-County Observer to the business community is considered to be abstract or unorthodox to any business inquiries)
From day one, the business model that was adopted assures that profits would always be secondary to our reader’s ability to receive truthful, accurate, unbiased reporting. Consequentially, during the last twenty (20) years our business model has worked very well for the owners of the City-County Observer. We have earned a profit for each month during the last twenty (20) years. Our philosophy and business model for not charging our readers for a subscription has proven to be extremely successful in attracting new readers and retaining current readers for the City-County Observer.
Also, not charging our readers a subscription fee assures that people are reading our papers and picking up printed papers at many locations throughout the city. The viewership being free helps to maximize our advertiser’s exposure.
The City-County Observer has no outstanding debt.
The City-County Observer doesn’t have any current, past, or pending lawsuits.
All current and past tax forms have been appropriately filed at the state and national levels.
All of our capital equipment is paid for.
To save money, the City-County Observer is produced out of our home.
The most impressive aspect of the City-County Observer is we have a special financial arrangement with the majority of our advertisers. They pay us a year in advance for advertising.
We consistently maintain a $75,000 plus balance in our business checking account.
In conclusion, the City-County Observer also generates additional money throughout the year by producing monthly luncheon events that highlight local business leaders’ company challenges.
We sponsor an Annual “Community Service Awards Luncheon” which, honors individuals that have contributed to the betterment of our community. This annual award luncheon generates an impressive profit for the newspaper.
