Dave Askins (born c. 1964) is an American journalist and the founder of the Bloomington, Indiana digital news site B Square Bulletin. [1]
Askins was born in Columbus, Indiana [2] about 1964, [1] the son of Larry and Betty Askins. [3] He graduated from Columbus North High School in 1982.[ citation needed ] Askins was a delivery boy for the Louisville Courier-Journal from 1974 to 1980. [4]
He obtained a bachelor's degree in mathematics, then studied German linguistics at Indiana University in the late 1980s. [2] He met his wife, Mary Morgan, in Bloomington when they both attended graduate school at Indiana University. [1] They married in 1989. [5]
Askins' career took him first to China, where the couple taught English to medical professionals, [2] before moving to Rochester, New York, [2] where Askins resumed his graduate studies. [2] The couple moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in the 1990s when Morgan was offered a job at the Ann Arbor News. [6]
On 2 September 2008, [7] [8] Askins and his wife Mary, founded the for-profit, digital newspaper, the Ann Arbor Chronicle. [1] [9] The paper was her brainchild, [10] known for its in-depth coverage of local government matters, [2] including city government meetings, [2] the planning commission, [11] city boards, [11] [12] and local election results. [11] In addition to Askins and his wife, the paper had seven contributing freelancers. [11] The paper brought in revenue of about $100,000. [5] [8] [11] In 2011, Askins and the Chronicle sued the city for holding closed sessions meetings in violation of the Open Meetings Act. [13] That lawsuit failed at the first hurdle, but a 2014 lawsuit by Askins on similar grounds was more successful. [14] The couple shut down the Chronicle on 2 September 2014 after six years citing work-life balance [5] [8] with the paper being "all consuming". [10]
In Ann Arbor, Askins also ran a blog called the Teeter Talk where he interviewed locals. [1] [15]
In 2017, Askins moved to Madison, South Dakota to work for the Madison Daily Leader.[ independent source needed ] Askins was working in a newsroom in Pierre, South Dakota in 2018 [1] for the Pierre Capital Journal. His wife returned to Bloomington and Askins followed her there. [1]
Unable, however, to find a job, he founded the B Square Beacon [2] which became a leading media outlet [1] covering city government [2] like the Chronicle. The site operated on a donations basis and was run on about $3,000 per month raised from approximately 500 donors. [1] The site was renamed the B Square Bulletin in 2021. [2] After 5 years, [16] Askins wrapped up the site on 20 December 2024 citing the heavy workload. [1]
The county library is exploring options for archiving the newspaper, with Askins agreeing to cover the cost of hosting until an archive can be secured. [1]