By Thomas Palmer, 1812Blockhouse Publisher
What’s better than a birthday party? Celebrating a birth on the same day, that’s what!
September 8 is a banner day around these parts. Way back in 2016, it was the date chosen for the launch of 1812Blockhouse, which has been published consistently since then.
Over 6,200 stories have been shared during those six years and, with an average of 5 to 10 links a day to stories from other local media, we have been a place where readers have been able to access tens of thousands of posts about Richland County.
Along the way, of course, we grew a bit. 1808Delaware came along to serve Delaware and Delaware County. As it so happens, 1812 and 1808 are very different animals that serve a readership that has strong and divergent preferences on how they get their news.
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By 1812Blockhouse
Each morning, hundreds of Richland Countians get a compact digest of the latest news from all local media – and from media across the country that cover Richland County stories.
They do so via Richland Roast, 1812Blockhouse’s free, easy to read morning newsletter that arrives via email.
“It’s proven to be hugely popular,” noted Thomas Palmer, 1812Blockhouse publisher. “There is no better way to catch up on all local news and information each day, including our own coverage and stories. We have some great reporting in the area, but it is spread out over multiple publications. With Richland Roast, you can get a daily digest with direct links to the best of that coverage.”
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By: 1812Blockhouse – UPDATED
In the years that 1812Blockhouse has been live, we have launched several “series.”
Some we have continued throughout that time. Others we have launched and paused for a bit after several stories have been posted. You may well see at least one of those series come back and we are planning new series in the coming weeks. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
Good news can sometimes come on the coldest days.
On Friday, we learned here at 1812Blockhouse that our application for renewal a member of LION Publishers, an important association of independent news publishers and publications across the country, had been approved.
This is the second full year that we will be part of that organization.
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By 1812Blockhouse with content by Anyword
Welcome to 2022!
Here is something brand new for a brand new year. Perhaps for the first time in the history of Richland County news media (as far as we are aware, that is), you are currently reading a published non-sports story which was partially written by a machine.
Could this be part of the future of local media?
It already is.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere, and it can be used to do just about anything. Nowadays, your phone isn’t even fully usable without some sort of AI like Siri or Google Assistant to help you navigate it. But you may be surprised to learn that AI is also being used by the news media to help with their reporting efforts. So what does this mean for the future of the news media?
More…1812Blockhouse, Artificial Intellegence, Featured, Local Media
1812Blockhouse, All About Richland
By 1812Blockhouse — who else?
After almost 900 posts, 2,500 links to stories from other local media, and countless lessons learned, we’re ready to say good-bye to 2021.
As we do so, we’re taking a day off so that Saturday can be a day of family, football, food, and of looking ahead. We will see you again on Sunday, January 2.
We will also be updating Richland Tweets on Saturday, although we suspect that the “tweetflow” will be reduced as locals celebrate the holiday.
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By 1812Blockhouse
This week we have been looking back at ten of the most read posts on 1812Blockhouse during 2021. Below are the final two stories that fit that description.
Our first two stories can be found here, the second set here, and the third set here, and the fourth set here.
A few things about this list. First, it does not include any posts in our series, such as Richland Roots or Literary Mansfield. In fact, one of our Landmarks of Mansfield series posts was the second-most read post of the year!
These are shared in chronological order, not by number of views.
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By 1812Blockhouse
This week we are looking back at ten of the most read posts on 1812Blockhouse during 2021. Below are two more of those stories, both of which were published in March.
Our first two stories can be found here, the second set here, and the third set here.
A few things about this list. First, it does not include any posts in our series, such as Richland Roots or Literary Mansfield. In fact, one of our Landmarks of Mansfield series posts was the second-most read post of the year!
These are shared in chronological order, not by number of views.
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By 1812Blockhouse
This week we are looking back at ten of the most read posts on 1812Blockhouse during 2021. Below are two more of those stories, both of which were published this past spring.
Our first two stories can be found here, and the second set here.
A few things about this list. First, it does not include any posts in our series, such as Richland Roots or Literary Mansfield. In fact, one of our Landmarks of Mansfield series posts was the second-most read post of the year!
These are shared in chronological order, not by number of views.
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By 1812Blockhouse
This week we are looking back at ten of the most read posts on 1812Blockhouse during 2021. Below are two more of those stories, both of which were published in February.
Our first two stories can be found here.
A few things about this list. First, it does not include any posts in our series, such as Richland Roots or Literary Mansfield. In fact, one of our Landmarks of Mansfield series posts was the second-most read post of the year!
These are shared in chronological order, not by number of views.
As always, we thank you, 1812Blockhouse readers, for making this site possible.
Among the most read stories of the last 12 months were the following. Click on either for the original post.
By 1812Blockhouse
This week we are looking back at ten of the most read posts on 1812Blockhouse during 2021. Below are the first two of those stories.
A few things about this list. First, it does not include any posts in our series, such as Richland Roots or Literary Mansfield. In fact, one of our Landmarks of Mansfield series posts was the second-most read post of the year!
These are shared in chronological order, not by number of views.
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By 1812Blockhouse
There was a note of optimism in the air as the year 2020 wound to a close. The “Year of COVID” was over, we collectively sighed, and we hoped that 2021 would bring a lessening of the virus’ effect.
There were rumors of vaccines coming online. Local governments were given an extension to spend federal “CARES” monies, and many businesses and individuals were sure to benefit. Life had begun a painfully slow return to normal.
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By 1812Blockhouse
It’s our gift to our readers this holiday season — it’s the 2021 edition of “Christmas in North Central Ohio.”
We have taken a trip up and down and around the internet, looking for happenings and events that celebrate the season in Ashland, Crawford, and Richland Counties. Once we found them, we collected links and organized them by date. We have to post this early as planning becomes awfully important this time of the year.
It’s now available and easy to find on 1812Blockhouse — just look for the link in our Richland News section.
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By 1812Blockhouse
When Richland Roast, 1812Blockhouse’s weekday free “e newsletter,” started earlier this year we hoped to tap into the area’s strong interest in becoming and staying informed.
Before we began, we took the opportunity to gain insight into how newsletters can fit into a news operation. As a member of LION Publishers, the country’s leading consortium of local, independent, online news operations (hence the name), we learned from examples and ideas from other sites.
That shared, we also wanted to know what would work locally. A local Mansfield-based marketing consultant was gracious in freely sharing some insights that proved valuable in choosing a direction for the publication.
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By 1812Blockhouse
During the time we have been publishing, we have posted hundreds of original photos on 1812Blockhose of Richland County scenes and Richland County people.
It’s always been a bit part of what we do — attempting to convey the amazing variety of what makes life in this part of Ohio incredibly worthwhile.
From time to time, that has included photo essays as we visit a specific location. We store those essays in a variety of places, but more than once we have used Flickr, which is an ideal medium for photo storage and display.
On a Sunday, we thought that we would share photo albums with you that include trips to St. Matthew Lutheran Church, a Veterans Day celebration in downtown Mansfield, experiencing fall at Malabar Farm, North Lake Park, a stroll through downtown Mansfield, and Kingwood Center Gardens.
All photos included were taken by and belong to 1812Blockhouse.
