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Silicon Valley Today, Santa Clara County's all-electronic newspaper, the electronic crossroads of greater San Jose, made its debut on the Internet worldwide web with a splash on Dec. 19, 1996.
Things it will not do
Today editor and publisher Jon Kennedy said the new and unique newspaper will not--
 Be a direct competitor with the electronic versions of the print newspapers serving the valley. Those enterprises bring an agenda that defines what gets in their cyberspace, and how. As a reader-driven family newspaper, Silicon Valley Today is committed to letting in its space anything that's suitable for reading or viewing by all members of families.
Charge high prices for advertising. Part of the reason this new concept in web publishing can work is that, compared with what's been tried thus far, advertising can be sold at very low prices--say a typical link-bar 100 percent of page width by one and a half inches deep for as low as $10 a month.
Try to cover world, national, state, or even "breaking" local news. We will give hyperlinks to media that offer those kinds of news, like the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, MSNBC, and other free ones.
What it will do
| On the other hand, Kennedy said, it will--
Be free to anyone with web access.
Be daily, with at least some new material added every day. Every edition will be archived and accessible for reference for at least a year.
Be more community-neighborhood oriented than the regional print daily. More school-, church-, and family-oriented than the print weekly.
Provide a forum for announcing all community activities through press releases and a calendar. All businesses, nonprofits, schools, churches, recreational outlets, clubs, would be encouraged to participate. Provide links to home pages for anyone who wanted them, located either on our own or remote sites.
| Your Ad
Could Be In
This Spot
For as little as
$10 a month
LINKED TO YOUR
HOME PAGE OR
COMPLETE WEB SITE
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Publish just about any press release, from any pro or amateur source about anything in the valley, professionally edited including prioritizing, headlines, and attractive graphics.
Major in valley business news, as provided electronically by hundreds of valley businesses and PR firms.
Gather all news electronically, via email and web pages, with only rare exceptions by actually covering events on-site, to control costs.
Encourage submission of, and make much use of, pictures from sources, submitted electronically.
Provide neighborhood news in folders geared to specific areas: Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Saratoga, and the San Jose communities of Almaden Valley, Alum Rock, Blossom Valley, Cambrian Park, Downtown, Evergreen Valley, Northside, Santa Teresa, Southside.
Provide in-depth forums for discussion of political, social, religious, and other controversial issues.
Provide forums with reviews of movies, other entertainment, restaurants, travel, hobbies, and other interests.
Commercially, the most important thing it would do would be provide constantly fresh "content" dressed up (edited and laid out) in a sufficiently attractive way as to draw daily readers. This, in turn, should draw advertisers. And especially because the advertising is so cheap and yet so dynamic, it should be possible to sell sufficient volume to generate a reasonable return for those who make it available.
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