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Happy news site wants some for its bottom line

DALLAS - Carrie Rodgers is so engrossed by cable-television news shows that her husband calls her a news addict, but lately she has found another source to balance the onslaught of stories about war, crime and natural disasters.

Two or three times a day, the 28-year-old insurance agent in Columbia, S.C., turns to a Web site called HappyNews.com.

She often clicks first to a section called "Heroes," which recently featured stories about U.S. troops rescuing two cheetah cubs in Ethiopia and the induction of 12 people into the Hall of Fame for Caring Americans.

"There's so much going on in the world that is so sad," Rodgers said. "You can go anywhere and find depressing news. I'm glad somebody has stepped up and shown there are still good people in the world."

HappyNews is the brainchild of Byron Reese, chief executive of Austin, Texas-based PageWise Inc., which publishes several how-to and advice Web sites. He decided the world needed a refuge from newspapers and television news shows, so he launched HappyNews in July.

On Dec. 2, the New York Times , Washington Post and Los Angeles Times Web sites led with news that 10 U.S. Marines in Iraq had been killed by a bomb, the deadliest attack against American troops there since August.

HappyNews went with "Emily, the stowaway cat, is coming home," about a Wisconsin tabby that got stuck in a cargo container and wound up in France.

Other lead stories on HappyNews recently included: "Man decks house with synchronized lights," and "Washington grape growers reap record harvest."

Editor Patricia Meyer and a small staff select about 40 items to post on the site each day. They reject any story that may draw objections from more than 5 percent of their estimated 100,000 regular readers.

Surveys have shown that many readers want more good news, and newspapers and television have responded by offering more entertainment and celebrity coverage, said Tommy Thomason, director of the journalism school at Texas Christian University.

"Unfortunately, the events we need to respond to as informed citizens are not good," Thomason said. "If you know all about synchronized Christmas lights, that won't help you be informed when you're voting on the people who will lead the country."

Advertisers have been slow to find HappyNews. Without divulging figures, Reese acknowledged the site is losing money, but he expressed confidence that eventually it will turn a profit.

[Last modified December 12, 2005, 01:11:08]