Hermann Hearsay has reached a major milestone today! This is our 700th posting. Our first posting was on July 5th, 2009.
Since our initial start-up, Clark Kant has retired as Editor In Chief but still sits on our editorial board, Lois Lame has been promoted to Assistant Editor, and I have been pomoted to Clark's old position. We have also hired Frank Furter to handle our IT issues, report on the weekend weather forecast, keep our offices clean and brew our coffee.
Some people want to shut us down. Since our start-up, we have been harshly criticized on this site as well as on other sites for some of our views, we have been threatened with two lawsuits, we have been criticized and intimidated by certain county officials during public county commission meetings and we have been smeared in email messages sent to various people in the county. The question is "Why?" Why is it that these people want so desperately to discredit us and silence us?
Yet even with all the determined opposition we have faced, we are still here. We are still speaking out on issues when we feel it important for us to do so. With your continued support and indulgence, we shall continue to speak out.
Our website format has evolved during the past 14 months. We expected that it would. We have listened to your input, and we are working hard to meet your needs. Keep on giving us your input. We will listen to it and consider it seriously as we move forward.
We have "branded" our identity with our mascot 'Herkimer', and we have created our own designer line of golf apparel featuring our unique and irreverent 'Hermann Hearsay' trademarked logo. No other local news media organization has their own designer line of golf apparel.
It has been difficult to remain financially solvent in our highly competitive local online news market. But we have managed to keep our overhead low, and we are managing to stay in business. As we move forward into 2011, we will seek to improve our profitability. We would like to buy a fancy digital camera with a great big telescopic lens like our competitors have. We're shopping around for the best deal. We would also like to be able to buy gourmet coffee for the office. Folgers is OK, but we'd like to move up to Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts or maybe some nice organically grown coffee.
The main thing is that we've been having fun ..... and we hope that you've been having fun too! We'll keep speaking up, and we hope you'll keep reading our opinions and responding with yours!
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." First Amendment, U. S. Constitution
