On-line Troy Citizen Open for Business!

I’m excited to announce that I am starting a Substack newspaper for those who care deeply about Troy, Alabama.

Stories (and photos) should start arriving in subscribers’ email accounts by the end of this week. I can’t wait to start. I think readers will enjoy what’s to come.

Friends and neighbors who love and care about Troy and Pike County will hopefully share my enthusiasm about a new business project I’m announcing today.

Starting this week, I will be writing and disseminating stories of keen interest to local residents via a new Substack newsletter, The Troy Citizen.

I hope many of my friends remember the weekly newspaper of the same name I published between 1995 - 2002.

I will do my best to provide the same high-interest stories to local residents, who will receive this content every day via email and//or a Substack ap.

For those unfamiliar with Substack, the platform was created in 2017 to allow independent writers to easily publish stories they think are important. The site now has more than 35 million users world-wide, with newsletter authors covering every subject imaginable.

For the past several years, I’ve worked as a “freelance author,” with most of my journalism published at a separate Subtack site. In two years, my Substack stories have been read by millions of citizens around the world.

I’m flattered that I now have almost 7,000 subscribers and 9,000 Substack followers in all 50 states and dozens of countries. 

My existing Substack newsletter focusses primarily on topics not typically covered by the “mainstream” media, stories of interest to a distinct global audience. 

With the new Troy Citizen Substack, my editorial focus will be different. Namely it will include a hyper focus on “local, local, local” - human interest stories about neighbors, important events, trends, sports, school events, economic and business news.

This digital newspaper will include a strong emphasis on features stories about the many interesting and inspiring citizens who make our community so special.

How it will work …

Signing up for a Substack subscription is easy and, yes, readers can subscribe for FREE.

Once signed up, readers who value quality local journalism will receive multiple stories (and photos) in their email in-box every day. If readers download Substack’s popular ap, they can access these stories whenever they want.

While many local readers might prefer the free subscription, I’m going to cross my fingers and hope a certain percentage of residents will support this venture via a paid subscription.

For those who are able to financially support this venture, monthly paid subscriptions are just $6/month or $55/year (an annual savings of 24 percent).

I believe in capitalism and, to make this the best Substack newspaper in the country, I plan to offer extra features for paid subscribers. After a two-month roll-out (which should showcase the content I’m able to consistently produce), I’ll probably provide more stories - and longer stories - to paid subscribers.

Reader Comments should prove very popular …

Substack readers also have the opportunity to make unlimited comments at the bottom of every story. This is a great way for neighbors to provide extra information about story subjects or share any opinion they think might be of interest to their neighbors.

What type content can readers expect from The Troy Citizen?

I’ve already produced a list of hundreds of human interest stories I think everyone will want to read. Pike County is full of interesting and inspiring citizens and I look forward to telling these stories. 

I also look forward to researching trends that affect our lives and sharing with readers information they’ve perhaps never received or thought about.

My late father, Bill Rice, Sr., became the town historian and my late mother, Marcia Chapman Rice, also grew up in Troy.

From my parents, I inherited a keen sense of the importance of local history and will write numerous stories that might be interesting to long-time Trojans or to newcomers in our community who might not be as familiar with the key events and colorful characters from our past.

I love sports and will make sure our local athletes, teams and coaches receive the quality coverage they deserve.

I will also reach out to friends who enjoy writing and will share any excellent stories others might submit.

I hope readers and local residents use my email address (wjricejunior@gmail.com) and Readers’ Comments to pass along tips for future stories and important upcoming events.

As my old readers probably remember, I enjoy writing opinion columns - some of which try to show off my sense of humor.

Instead of “trying to save the world,”  I’ll try to share personal opinions on important local news, adding historical context where appropriate. So readers aren’t exposed only to the thoughts of Bill Rice, Jr., I’ll be soliciting “guest columns” as well.

In my opinion, God gave me a talent for identifying interesting and original stories and I’m confident the articles I send readers will appeal to many readers. 

My market includes 33,000 Pike County residents, but also former residents who now live in other communities but still want to keep up with developments in their hometown.

What can readers do to help me make this on-line newspaper a success?

Please subscribe - for free or paid. (Those who subscribe on a monthly basis can cancel at any time).

Also, please help me spread the word by sharing this article or future Troy Citizen articles on social media, with your email contacts or by word-of-mouth at church or your workplace.

Also, some residents may consider purchasing a subscription for a family member or friend.

My goal:

The more subscribers I recruit, the better the content I will be able to provide for our community.

I love my hometown and, like you, care deeply about our future. I enjoy writing human interest stories about my neighbors. I’m going to do my best to make sure everyone enjoys the stories to come.  

Thank you very much for supporting this venture. I hope you enjoy the original content to come!

Sincerely,

Bill Rice, Jr.