[RP TownTalk] Riverdale Park Communications, the Town Crier, and the Hyattsville Experience: A Proposal

[Alan K. Thompson]

{Same as previous post, with text flowed -- Alan}

On 1/26/06, The Curries <the.curries at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> As an interested neighbor in Hyattsville, I followed the TownTalk discussion
> a couple months ago about the Town Crier and then more recently on ways to
> improve Town communications with residents.  During the earlier
> conversation, my former City Council colleague Stuart Eisenberg had this to
> say about Hyattsville's recent experiment in civic communications:
>
>   "Almost two years ago, some neat, retired Hyattsville businessmen got
> together to propose the development of an all-volunteer newspaper to the
> City.  They were tired of all the negativism, and lurid headlines in the
> Gazette, and wanted to focus on positive, real life profiles of residents
> and organizations. They developed a business model and plan, and presented
> it to the City Council.  Their idea was to propose the monthly publication
> of the City's Newsletter, 'The Hyattsville Reporter,' as an advertising
> supplement inserted in the newspaper, through a contract agreement.
>
> "Now, once a month the Reporter is a stand alone mailer printed on
> distinctive green paper, and once a month it goes in the newspaper.  The net
> result was two-fold.  First: the initial contract got the paper on its feet,
> while it developed an advertising base. Second: the newsletter publication
> and distribution costs to the City actually lowered.  The next year's
> contract lowered the advertising fee further, and it's possible that
> eventually this paper might wean itself entirely from its reliance on a City
> advertising contract, or further lower the publication costs of the
> newsletter.
>
> "So now, once again we have a local paper, 'The Hyattsville Life & Times.'"
>
>
>
>
> Now nearing the end of its second year of publication, the Life & Times has
> been a great success from a business perspective, and it's likely that next
> year's advertising rates for insertion of the City newsletter will fall
> again.  It fills a previously unmet need in local commerce, allowing small
> businesses an affordable opportunity to reach City residents and those same
> residents information about the local merchants.
>
>
>
> Moreover, the paper helps build community identity and pride, develop social
> capital, and create a better informed citizenry.  And it allows an outlet
> for airing viewpoints and telling stories so that the "government organ",
> the Hyattsville Reporter, can focus on providing information on municipal
> services, Council actions and City events.  The Life & Times tries to steer
> clear of charges of partisanship by publishing letters and opinion columns
> by residents and City officials but not endorsing candidates or taking
> positions of its own on City issues.
>
>
>
> I think some of the tensions regarding the Town Crier might be eased if some
> of the creative editors and writers of the Crier were able to direct their
> energies and talents towards a similar volunteer newspaper in Riverdale
> Park.  I realize that there have been independent newsletters in the Town
> before, but what I'm proposing is the more synergistic model that
> Hyattsville has pursued – and one that is financially sustainable.
>
>
>
> I recently had the opportunity to talk with the business manager of the Life
> & Times about the conversations I've observed on this listserv.  His
> response was that the Life & Times might well be interested in partnering
> with an interested group in Riverdale Park to help produce a Riverdale Park
> newspaper.  There would be advantages for both papers in a joint-operations
> arrangement with separate publications in each City but shared advertising,
> layout and printing operations.  For example, some businesses in each town
> would likely want to buy space in both publications, while costs of
> recruiting and producing ads would decrease.
>
>
>
> Also, the combined resources of both papers might make it possible to hire a
> part-time managing editor to provide increased reliability and
> sustainability to the publications.  However, each publication would have
> its own governance, policies and standards – each uniquely meeting the needs
> of its own community.
>
>
>
> I imagine the Town Council might see some advantages in reduced publication
> costs for the Town Crier and fewer disputes over content (since
> non-government communications would appear in the independent newspaper
> rather than the official town newsletter).
>
>
>
> Would town residents welcome such a newspaper?  And if so, would there be
> volunteers to help edit and write for it?  I have no idea of the answers to
> those questions – only an observation that there seems to be a keen interest
> in civic communications amongst the members of this list.
>
>
>
> I would be interested to see comments about this proposal on this listserv,
> if there are any.  Or anyone may contact Hyattsville Life & Times Business
> Manager Steve Clements at sclements55 at earthlink.net to discuss.
>
>
>
> Best wishes for continued success in your community-building efforts –
>
>
>
> Chris Currie
>
>
>
>
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>
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