Jack Bennest, founder of Oliver Daily News, standing near a house.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Facebook
January 07, 2022 - 8:30 PM
After launching the online news blog Oliver Daily News in late 2010, owner and operator Jack Bennest has decided to call it a day.
“I had a good run at it,” Bennest said, who decided to cease operations at the end of 2021.
The cost of COVID could only be weathered for so long, he said.
The readers are still demanding the content but there are fewer interesting stories to report on and not enough revenue to support the business, he said, as fewer advertisements were being purchased and his site was not eligible for government subsidies.
“Pretty soon I was funding it through my own personal revenue until one day I said OK it’s time to move on,” Bennest said.
Bennest first launched Oliver Daily News because he wanted to connect with the public about municipal issues. He served as a town councillor from 1988 to 1993, and again from 2003 to 2017. He was always up to speed on the local matters and wanted to editorialize some issues.
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He made a pitch to share those thoughts with the local newspaper in a column for $50 a month, but when that offer was declined, he decided to launch his own soapbox.
There were times when he was challenged for being in conflict of interest between his two roles. But he maintains his innocence.
His advice for the next generation of reporters: “Never think you’re smarter than anyone else, play dumb and you get the best stories.”
Oliverdailynews.com remains active as an archive.
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