Online news, inclusive of social media, is the primary source of information for most Americans, and mainstream broadcast media has acknowledged this in embracing the online dissemination of their programming.
Local television stations and national TV networks, radio stations and even newspapers have all realized that fewer and fewer people are tuning in or subscribing to their broadcast or print products, and have embraced online resources.
Several years ago media giant and, arguably the largest radio corporation, Clear Channel Radio, was the largest investor in XM satellite radio, signaling that they were critically aware of what was coming. Since that time, XM has merged with Sirius, to form the largest online streaming media provider.
As all internet-based programming, the best part is that anyone can say anything anytime, and the worst part is that anyone can say anything anytime, but online news sources continue to grow exponentially.
Foster Folly News, based in Chipley, Florida, has been a large part of the fabric of the communities of Washington, Bay, Jackson and Homes Counties, as well as Southeast Alabama, for over a dozen years, and recently was awarded the distinction of garnering over one and a half million web hits in a single calendar year, up from one million just a year ago.
In and of itself, this accomplishment may pale in comparison to national news service websites and social media instruments, but for this rural area in Northwest Florida, the accomplishment signifies reaching a goal that many media companies would like to experience.
Along with news from around the Florida Panhandle, one successful feature of the Foster Folly offering is the display of extensive photo galleries and video clips, featuring in-depth coverage of regional people, festivals, special events, parades, high school and college sports competitions and social gatherings, giving credence to the popular tenant that photo and video elements boost the relative placement of websites and social media sites, as well as search engine optimization.
In addition, specialty photo galleries, including aerial images, along with aerial video clips, have garnered a fair amount of attention and web hits, especially when shared on social media.
Obviously this is not accomplished without the viral aspect of social media, allowing a wide and diverse audience to gain awareness for this content, and the personal attraction to images of family, friends and community members bears fruit for the content provider.
Thank you, our readers, for allowing us to achieve this accomplishment, although the one negative aspect of achieving a goal such as this is that the bar is set even higher.
Fortunately, the staff of Foster Folly News is determined to keep producing the content that thus far has elevated it to the number one source for local news, photos and editorial material.
