I want to thank each and every one of you for your support.
Since September 2002, we have printed five issues of Public
Defender. Back in 2002, when I first launched the
paper as a 24-page, 2-color tabloid, there were just a
handful of people that really supported what I was trying
to do. And between those five or so people, I was able
to raise two thousand dollars to pay for printing the
premiere issue of Public Defender.
The mistake I made, which was quickly realized, was not
making it a priority to have experienced salespeople selling
ads for the paper. Don't get me wrong, the guys that were
in charge of selling ads for Public Defender
in the early days worked their butts off and were just
as dedicated to the cause as anybody in the organization.
I owe just as much thanks to those guys as anyone else.
But without that experienced sales team with knowledge
of the local ad scene and years of experience closing
long-term deals, we quickly ran short on operating capital.
Thanks to 22 subscribers who paid between $35 and $50
for a one-year subscription to our fledgling tabloid,
we were able to pay for another issue to be printed. And
with the help of a wonderful civic-minded southsider granting
us a loan of $1,000, we were able to pay for one more.
But soon, the long hours, the donated labor, and the
spent favors caught up with the staff and with me. And
after a short run, Public Defender went into
a long hiaitus.
I managed to get one more issue out in April 2004. But
shortly afterwards, I accepted the position of editor
at the St. Louis Argus, which put the future
of Public Defender in even more doubt.
Since the beginning, Public Defender raised
a total of $4,360 from 31 subscribers and investors --
mostly personal friends and friends of friends. To my
knowledge, only one individual has ever voiced dissatisfaction
with his investment. He is a $50 subscriber and he voiced
his complaint on a public email list and never to me personally.
Perhaps I should have immediately mailed him a refund
check upon hearing of his complaint. But I didn't.
I don't think his subscription is over. And unless he
actually asks to cancel it, I don't think he has received
his last issue of Public Defender. Nor have you.
I don't need to ask for your patience because you have
already shown it. For that, I thank you all. I'm sure
that's due to the fact that most of the 31 of you original
Public Defender investors (I even consider those
who just subscribed as investors) were my friends before
this venture. And those that weren't are surely my friends
today.
Your investment will mature and I believe that our community
will be the better for it. Never before will $4,360 have
gone so far to improve awareness and accountability in
our city and region.
Thank you again for believing in PUB DEF, St. Louis,
and me.
