October 17, 2014
Journalists need the ability to create something that differentiates them from everyone else, according to a local media entrepreneur who launched his own news website covering news and events in the west San Fernando Valley.
Matt Thacker has done just that in creating Post-Periodical, a free news website that features breaking news and feature stories that used to be covered by major newspapers like the L.A. Times and the Daily News.
"There's not that local news that there used to be," he said.
Thacker was a featured speaker at a recent CSUN chapter of Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) club meeting in which he spoke to students about his website and shared insight about the journalism field.
"We're trying to find a way to bring this important information to people," Thacker said, "because people do want to read it."
Created by Thacker in August 2013, postperiodical.com is an online publication that focuses on providing community news to neighborhoods west of the 405 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley.
Thacker's online publication features a page for each neighborhood in the Valley, allowing readers the opportunity to access information that is directly related to the area in which they live.
"The West Valley is the perfect place to do it, because we have over 600,000 people," he said. "If it's going to succeed, I think this is the place where it's going to have to."
Community members who are familiar with Thacker’s website are very excited about it and support the idea of having local news coverage.
"People really do care about what’s happening in their community," Thacker said, as his website has increased from 20,000 viewers to about 90,000 viewers a month since April we he began running the operation full time.
Before launching his online publication, he graduated from the University of Louisville, where he wrote for the student paper and found a love for investigative journalism. He then worked for four years as a police and court reporter for a newspaper in Indiana. Two years ago, he moved to California and freelanced for various publications in addition to a stint at the Palisadian-Post in Pacific Palisades.
Eager to get back into investigative journalism, Thacker brainstormed ideas for publications. Knowing that public consumption of news has been rapidly migrating to the Internet, he decided to take a risk and start an online publication.
On his website, Thacker reports on essential things happening in the community. From neighborhood meetings to local events, Thacker serves as a "watchdog" for the community to highlight issues that can create positive change.
“Everything that happens has a local effect,” he went on to say. “We do care very much about what is happening in our community, so that’s why this is important.”
Thacker plans to continue to expand news coverage on his website and work towards finding a way to monetize his work.
After speaking about his website, he left students with some tips and advice when entering into the journalism field.
“You need to think about what’s interesting, what’s something that people want to share, what’s something that’s important enough, something that people are going to want to send to their friends,” Thacker said. “You make actual change.”
- Samantha Simonds