By Andy Spearman
I’ve enjoyed working on Drogheda Life for the past 11 years but a recent health scare and the passing of the “three score years and ten” landmark in my life has made me realise that I need to get on with other projects which have been on the back burner for too long.
So, I have made my mind up that I will work until Christmas and then call it a day. I’ve been thinking about retiring for some time, my friends and family are probably sick and tired listening to me talking about it.
But that leaves the question of what is going to happen to Drogheda Life? Either I take it off line in January or else I can hand it on to someone with the imagination and the necessary skills to bring it to the next stage.
I am extremely proud of Drogheda Life which I started in February 2012 because I could see that, due to social media and the instantaneous nature of digital news, the days of the weekly newspaper are numbered.
It has been extremely hard work with long hours and at times very little to show for it, but Drogheda Life has survived through thick and thin.
A cyber-attack in 2016 in which four years of work was stolen because I would not and could not pay a ransom, meant I had to start again from scratch with a newly designed website.
Traffic was growing throughout the following couple of years and the advertising revenue started to build up as local businesses and other organisations could see the benefits of online news.
Then the Covid-19 pandemic struck and commerce more or less stopped. Advertising was thin on the ground but Drogheda Life’s readership figures continued to grow throughout the various lockdowns.
Covid hasn’t gone away but it is certainly in retreat and advertising revenue at Drogheda Life is increasing month on month. If only the same could be said for my energy levels!
So, if there is anyone out there interested in taking on what is now a well-established and well regarded section of the local media and building on its success, perhaps they could get in touch – email me at news@droghedalife.com and we can arrange to meet up.
I would obviously stay on for a while in a support role but I do think that, with the right person with the required skillsets and a level of business acumen (something that I have very little of), Drogheda Life can become much more financially rewarding for a new owner.
