[RP TownTalk] town crier

[Chris Currie]

A model that has worked well in Hyattsville is to have a non-profit
community newspaper with professional part-time staff (who are willing to
work for low pay as a civic service) and then have the municipal newsletter
published within it.  The newspaper can design, print and distribute the
newsletter more cheaply, and with higher production values, than can the
municipality, and the contract fees help subsidize the non-profit newspaper
so that ad rates are low enough to be attractive to the local small
businesses.

You end up with a better municipal newsletter and a comprehensive and
independent community newspaper to boot.

You need several folks willing to serve on a board to manage the non-profit
organization and one or two staff with some journalism skills, and a corps
of volunteers willing to write, take photos, and so on.

Another option would be to work with the Hyattsville Life & Times to create
a Riverdale Park edition, to build upon a successful and established
operation and generate some economies of scale.  City of Hyattsville
resident surveys show the Life & Times is read regularly by most residents
(more than any other newspaper, including the Post), and the paper
regularly wins first-place awards in the National Newspaper Association
annual contest.  It has become a source of pride as well as increased
social capital in Hyattsville during the past decade.  It also fosters
economic development through its advertising program.  The Greenbelt News &
Review has served a similar role in that community for much longer.

It would be great to see something similar in Riverdale Park.

Chris Currie
Hyattsville


Message: 3
Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 19:34:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: Audrey Bragg <abragg7393 at aol.com>
To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
Subject: [RP TownTalk] town crier
Message-ID: <8D14A76DE7D27CD-1594-2A323 at webmail-d165.sysops.aol.com>
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Hi folks, Audrey Bragg, here.  I just broke my foot, so my pastime is
surfing the net.  I just came across an issue of the town crier from
July/August 2005.  The editor at the time was Rob Oppenheim, who still
lives here in town.  A belated thank you to him for such a fine job.  I am
looking at the current issue of the crier and I see such a big difference.
 The 2005 issue has letters to the editor, stories about goings on in the
town, a real interesting, readable piece.  Check it out.  It would be great
to have all that info and general fun stuff to read once a month!  I must
say I find the crier a little boring.  I want it and I don't want it to go
away, but after seeing that old issue I am sobbing with nostalgia.  Is
there any way we can bribe Rob to come back on staff?  How do others feel
about the crier.  Is there any opportunity there for volunteers to help?
 This list has been quiet, Let's have a discussion on this.
fondly,
audrey
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