By Michael Armstrong, Editor

Homer Independent Press

First, I’d like to apologize for the barrage of emails our free subscribers received starting at 12:01 a.m. New Year’s Day when we posted our first stories. Yes, we know you got an email for each story.

Every.

Dang.

Time.

Consider that the first foot of our first release. Unlike the First Footing in the Scottish Hogmanny tradition where it’s considered good luck for a dark haired stranger to come to your door, you got spam.

We humbly apologize for that. That glitch came about because of our newsletter system. We fixed that — we hope — and should have a normal, once weekly, newsletter heading  your way.

Otherwise, the release of the first edition of the Homer Independent Press went great, as did our party last Friday at Alice’s Champagne Palace. In true Homer tradition I thought if I got there at just a minute before the announced time I would be early. Holy creaky floor joists! I could barely get into the Alice’s balcony.

We had pizza, cupcakes and most important, a barrage of love and support for the start of a locally owned, locally run independent newspaper. Our tip jar got filled to overflowing, pushing our kitty into the five figures.

According to our statistics, we’ve had almost 10,000 page views and close to 3,000 visitors. People have visited our page from as far away as India, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Japan and Australia. With 1,000 views, our most popular article was an announcement of the Second Line procession. Almost all the comments were favorable. My favorite came from a former Homer friend now living Outside who wrote, “This reads as a love letter to the community: such a blessed relief.”

Once we’ve built a solid foundation, we hope to be able to hire a full-time editor/reporter so that I can fade away into the sunset like I tried to do in 2022. In the meantime, I’m amazed at all the true citizen journalists and veteran reporters and editors who have stepped forward to cover the beats. This week we have opinion essays, photographs, articles and briefs from people who have said, “Hey, what can I do to help?”


We also know the HIP has a lot of holes to fill. We’re reaching out to organizations to send us their events, and when we see something on a bulletin board, snap a photo to add on our own. I’ve gotten back in the habit of carrying my camera with me in case I stumble upon something newsworthy.

You can help, too. Send us letters to the editor or opinion pieces to editor@homerindependentpress.com. Have a news tip? Want us to dig into something? Email us at that address. We’re also working to create a Zen calendar (you know, a calendar that is one with everything). 

Oh, and while we appreciate our volunteer contributors, if you’re an experienced writer who can take on a beat like covering the Homer City Council or the Kenai Peninsula Borough School Board or Assembly, we have a modest budget to pay freelancers to cover stories like that. Query me at editor@homerindependentpress.com.

When I think about taking on big, daunting projects like building a house, writing a novel or starting a newspaper, I think of what my late mother, Sylvia Jander, told me: “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch; yard by yard, life is hard.”

We’re taking this inch by inch, HIPsters, and with your help, we’ll go light years.