Throughout much of the 20^th century, most Americans subscribed to a local newspaper — and sometimes more than one, if you lived in a city like Denver with two rival newspapers.  

The common perception at the time was that people were buying local news. They were, of course… but only partially. It’s true that the daily newspaper heyday included keeping residents informed about the happenings in the community, the nation, and even the world, but it did much more than that.  

Looking for a shoe sale? Check the newspaper. Need a job? Look in the newspaper. Need a house? Search the newspaper. Want to sell something? List it in the newspaper classifieds. Ready to buy a car? Peruse the newspaper for a good deal.  

In short, the local newspaper was the center of the community. It was your Publix app, Indeed, Zillow, Craigslist, cars.com and more all rolled into one.  

Those days are long gone. The internet age has brought with it fierce competition in each of those industry categories, and few would argue that the news business has done a good job of keeping up with the changes.  

Still, it’s never a bad time to innovate, and the local newspaper remains at the heart of many communities like this one — as evidenced by the 500 or so residents who attended our mayoral debate earlier this month.  

Our aim is to make The Apopka Chief the center of the community for more than just news. Last year we brough Publix inserts to the Chief, a move that has been very well received — because who doesn’t want to know the BOGOs for this week?   

We also partnered with a tech company called Column to automate and streamline legal notices.  

We also partnered with a company called CitySpark to provide a robust events calendar on our website (you will find it under the “Community” tab at theapopkachief.com). It allows you to peruse local events and even add a listing for free using the self-service portal.  

Now, we’ve added a brand-new Motor Marketplace to theapopkachief.com. We’re launching it with a handful of area dealerships that already have hundreds of vehicles listed, and we hope to add more soon.  

Think of Motor Marketplace like a local version of cars.com — only better. We have several technical features that make this marketplace attractive for auto dealers, but what’s most important for you, the consumer, is how easy the tool is to use.  

You can easily search by price, brand, model, or a whole host of specific features. You don’t have to worry about seeing vehicleshundreds of miles away, because all of them are in Central Florida.  

You also don’t have to worry about a system that will obscure dealer information to try to keep you on the website. Each vehicle detail page has not only all the information about that vehicle but also a clear website and phone number if you want to contact the dealer.  

I hope you will give this new tool a try and let us know what you think. Simply go to theapopkachief.com and click on “Marketplace” on the navigation bar.