Dave Askins

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Dave Askins (born c. 1964) is an American journalist and the founder of the Bloomington, Indiana digital news site B Square Bulletin. [1]

Contents

Early life

Askins was born in Columbus, Ohio [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]

Career

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]

Ann Arbor Chronicle

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]

B Square Bulletin

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]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Gregory, Molly (29 January 2025). "'All-consuming': Why Dave Askins retired the B Square Bulletin". Indiana Daily Student. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Dorfman, Peter (2021-10-20). "Dave Askins: Journalist". Bloom Magazine. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  3. "Obituary for Betty Marsh Askins" . The Republic. Columbus, Indiana. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  4. Clark, John (18 Apr 2009). "Web Neighbours" . The Republic. Columbus, Indiana. p. 16. Retrieved 16 July 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 Lichterman, Joseph (2014-08-12). "The Ann Arbor Chronicle, a quirky local news startup, is shutting down after six years". Nieman Lab. Archived from the original on 2025-05-30. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  6. Burg, Natalie (15 October 2014). "Chronicle founder reflects on Ann Arbor news media's past, present and future". Concentrate. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  7. Anderson, Michael (11 September 2009). "WordPress, Twitter, the Elks Club: 10 new routines at a news startup". Nieman Lab. Archived from the original on 2025-05-30. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  8. 1 2 3 Alfs, Lizzy (17 Aug 2014). "Numerically Speaking: $100K news operation to close as owners take time to do more in life" . The Ann Arbor News. pp. F1. Retrieved 14 July 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  9. Hilton, John (2008-10-01). "The Ann Arbor Chronicle". Ann Arbor Observer. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  10. 1 2 Kerr, Emma (2014-08-10). "Ann Arbor Chronicle to close in September". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Andersen, Michael (Sep 19, 2012). "Four years later, the Ann Arbor Chronicle is still weird and wonky — and it's growing". Nieman Lab. Archived from the original on 2025-05-30. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  12. "Around the Region: From Indiana: Bloomington news website ceases publication" . The Indianapolis Star. 5 Jan 2025. pp. A5. Retrieved 14 July 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  13. Stanton, Ryan J. (23 Jan 2011). "Judge: Council Didn't Violate Law by Having 'Secret Discussions'" . The Ann Arbor News. Ann Arbor, Michigan. pp. A10. Retrieved 15 July 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  14. Stanton, Ryan J. (20 Sep 2015). "Lawsuit brought against DDA for violating sunshine laws resolved" . The Ann Arbor News. Ann Arbor, Michigan. pp. A8. Retrieved 16 July 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  15. Miller, Jordan (24 May 2008). ""Overrated" blogger ID'd" . The Ann Arbor News. pp. A3. Retrieved 14 July 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  16. Ladwig, Boris. "'Not the way I wanted to wake up': Bloomington news website ceases publication". The Herald-Times. Retrieved 2025-07-13.