How about a J Street for Jewish Community Newspapers

Here's an idea that has been rolling around in my head since I worked on a tabloid newspaper centered on the trial of Daniel Elsburg and Tony Russo for making public the Pentagon Papers which revealed the failures of strategy and tactics in the Vietnam War. What they "outed" were analyses conducted by Santa Monica's Rand Corporation, but kept secret from the American public.

After helping to author and edit this paper, it bothered me that the local Jewish community papers around the country were incredibly conservative and seemed in thrall to major wealthy jewish philanthropists in their communities. I am not sure but I believe that many are not independent business operations, but instead are supported by their local Jewish Federations.

Whew! Long introduction.

My idea was to find a liberal benefactor who might buy and become publisher of such a local Jewish weekly, and then edit it in a much more liberal and from the bottom up manner. Write, for example about the daily lives of ordinary Jews. More importantly these papers would take progressive views on Israel and the middle east, rather than acting as mouth pieces for the Likud. I will say that in the last five years or so, some of these weeklies have improved. But still they have a way to go.

Well this one I won't get to do. Hope someone else has a the wish and the wherewithal to do something like this.