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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This is such an interesting discussion. I
don't have any solutions to proffer, but I'm a resident of Hyattsville and a
former Councilmember there, and I can share our newsletter /
newspaper experiences with my fine Riverdale Park friends
& neighbors, and hope that it stimulates consideration. The City
of Hyattsville currently has a bi-weekly newsletter, and has had one in past
years as well, that is published by its community services
coordinator. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><EM></EM></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It's a very nice newsletter, very well
done; however it serves as a government communication organ: paving, trash
& leaf pick-up schedules, police tips, weather and seasonal advice, project
announcements, summaries of motions passed, agendas to come, a message from the
Mayor, notices of hearings, volunteer opportunities, job announcements: that
sort of thing. But it had lacked the news, op-ed, interviews, and
journalistic components that a newspaper has. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Independent reporting is very difficult for a
government-related publication, especially a local government, to perform.
Concerns about and ultimately accusations of slant, bias and spin always factor
into the publication of information. That's even the reality of large
newspapers, whose corporate sponsors twist advertising budgets as a means of
influencing editorial and journalistic content. Few corporate boards have
the spine to resist fighting bites from the bottom line. The
Hyattsville community felt a void in the content of the municipal newsletter and
has yearned for a "local newspaper" like the Takoma Voice.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It is admirable if a governing board is capable of
resisting influencing the content and tone of a communication device like a town
newsletter. But it is inevitable for political representatives to try to
do this, even with the best intentions, and fiscal policy prudence at
heart. I've seen that close-up.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In the past, in the days before the Gazette ( whose
focus is not local, and whose content is poorly researched, mediocre, and biased
to an extreme) we had a small, independent publisher, Davis Kennedy, who
published the Hyattsville Local Paper (the Gazette drove him out of business),
and he utilized local writing talent to provide much of his content. It
was a lively and enjoyable, community-centered medium. We miss it
sorely. ( Fair disclosure: I used to contribute regularly to a
restaurant review column and and wrote some environment-related
columns).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So now, once again we have a local paper, "The
Hyattsville Life & Times."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Now this newpaper is not universally loved.
It has its legitimate critics: a few of them very fierce. Some
of the volunteer writers have been accused of being administration-friendly (we
know what a sin that can be). Councilmembers have been known to regularly
offer submissions. Occasional editorial missteps and glitches have
occurred as the paper develops: in an election issue, one candidate profile
got dissimilar treatment from the rest and another was omitted due to
factors disputed by the parties. Conspiracy or volunteer overload? I don't
know the answer, or think it makes a huge difference one way or the other (
for legal reasons our municipal newsletter won't touch candidate profiles and
statements). Since the newspaper is publishing interesting profiles of otherwise
unknown residents and documenting life in Hyattsville in a way no one else does,
the volunteerism & dedication is admirable, whatever warts may or may not be
present in the paper as a whole. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Interestingly, because of their antipathy to the
initial tone of the paper, some community members have refused to contribute as
volunteers to provide content and submission material: as they don't want to be
"associated" with the paper. A Catch Twenty -Two of sorts: since
some critics won't offer an opposing point of view, it doesn't appear to emerge
in the paper's forum. So: for good or ill, that's what's happening to
the south & west in my fair, but ever-expanding hamlet.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm interested to see how Riverdale Park resolves
its newsletter/paper issue. My family has many friends in your town, and I
go way back with some of your residents and leaders. I think that
Hyattsville and Riverdale Park have many common interests and need to work more
closely together as the inner beltway develops further and revitalization
opportunities emerge. I hope your list and newsletter successfully capture
the essence of your Town's unique and treasured character, and wish you success
in endeavoring to do so.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,<BR>Stuart Eisenberg<BR></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=bruce.wernek@mindspring.com
href="mailto:bruce.wernek@mindspring.com">bruce.wernek@mindspring.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=gerardkiernan@earthlink.net
href="mailto:gerardkiernan@earthlink.net">Gerard Kiernan</A> ; <A
title=TownTalk@riverdale-park.org
href="mailto:TownTalk@riverdale-park.org">TownTalk@riverdale-park.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=webbward6@hotmail.com
href="mailto:webbward6@hotmail.com">Kenneth Webb</A> ; <A
title=msnovella19@aol.com
href="mailto:msnovella19@aol.com">msnovella19@aol.com</A> ; <A
title=lawrencetaylor@mris.com
href="mailto:lawrencetaylor@mris.com">lawrencetaylor@mris.com</A> ; <A
title=msmarydon@yahoo.com
href="mailto:msmarydon@yahoo.com">msmarydon@yahoo.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, December 02, 2005 9:44
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [RP TownTalk] My proposal to
repeal the Town Crier section of the Code</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>All</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>I think Gerry has the right idea. Since the Town funds the Crier
they should have oversight by default. By repealing Chapter 3, they will
be able to direct the editor (who works for them, after all they pay him
don't they) to put whatever they want into the Crier. Since the
Mayor and the folks on the council work for us, we let them know what we want
in the Crier and everybody is happy.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bruce<BR><BR><BR><BR>-----Original Message----- <BR>From: Gerard Kiernan
<GERARDKIERNAN@EARTHLINK.NET><BR>Sent: Dec 1, 2005 7:05 PM <BR>To: <A
href="mailto:TownTalk@riverdale-park.org">TownTalk@riverdale-park.org</A>
<BR>Cc: Kenneth Webb <WEBBWARD6@HOTMAIL.COM>, <A
href="mailto:msnovella19@aol.com">msnovella19@aol.com</A>, <A
href="mailto:lawrencetaylor@mris.com">lawrencetaylor@mris.com</A>, <A
href="mailto:msmarydon@yahoo.com">msmarydon@yahoo.com</A> <BR>Subject: [RP
TownTalk] My proposal to repeal the Town Crier section of the Code
<BR><BR><ZZZHTML><ZZZHEAD></ZZZHEAD><ZZZBODY><FONT face=Helvetica>Dear Town
Talkers, <BR><BR>I would like to shed some light on the issue of repealing the
newsletter ordinance from the town code. Below you will find the
resolution I intend to propose at an upcoming meeting of the town council. Let
me explain the background of it and why I am proposing this course of action.
<BR><BR>First, did you know that Riverdale Park is the only municipal
government in Maryland to have a law defining the operation of its town
newsletter? The staff at the Maryland Municipal League was amazed to
hear that we had such a law, when I called to ask if anyone else had one. Many
officials of other towns when asked about this topic showed a similar
bewilderment. Also, the Town Crier was published for many decades without this
law, which was only passed in 2001.<BR><BR>Clearly, I would not be seeking the
repeal of this law had it worked out well in practice. The very reason
for the existence of the Crier is to allow the town government to effectively
communicate with residents. You elect a mayor and council to work on your
behalf and part of doing that effectively is communicating town policies and
actions to the community. Can you depend on that occurring if the mayor and
council CANNOT exercise authority over the Crier? Chapter 3 forbids any
elected official to "direct" the editor or publisher (the town administrator
functions as the publisher) about ANYTHING regarding the Crier.
<BR><BR>Some of the ways the former editor has used Chapter 3 to ignore
stated town policy over the last six months include:<BR></FONT><FONT
face=Symbol>…</FONT> <FONT face=Helvetica>Refusing to stay within budget (and
apparently feeling no need to come to the council to request additional
funding).<BR></FONT><FONT face=Symbol>…</FONT> <FONT face=Helvetica>Refusing
to include any information in Spanish‹while simultaneously expanding the size
of the Crier.<BR></FONT><FONT face=Symbol>…</FONT> <FONT
face=Helvetica>Refusing to include advertising for the Riverdale Farmer¹s
Market, which is funded by an entirely separate account from that which funds
the Crier. <BR> <BR><BR>Because of the wording of the
Chapter, the Mayor is prohibited from including the Crier in his annual
performance review of the Town Administrator. The publisher does not seem to
be giving appropriate oversight, but the Mayor can't do anything about
it.<BR><BR>When this issue was first raised several months ago, Mary Donaldson
introduced a measure to just repeal the sentence denying the mayor and council
oversight. It failed by one vote, but the two votes against change had first
asked to table the motion for further study. The Mayor mistakenly ruled
that the matter could not be tabled after a vote was underway, so the measure
failed (one person abstained thereby denying the 4 votes needed for passage).
I therefore felt that the three votes for against immediate action actually
wanted more time to study the issue and gather information. <BR><BR>Here
is the current version of the resolution that I plan to introduce. Since a
resolution must be published in a newspaper of general circulation before it
is voted on, and because there is no regular Town Crier in January, and
because a resolution must be voted on within 60 days of its introduction, I
may hold it to January to introduce and vote on it in February.
<BR><BR>Ordinance Resolution 2005-OR-xx<BR><BR>Repeal of Chapter 3 of
the Code of the Town of Riverdale Park<BR><BR>Whereas, the Town of Riverdale
Park is the only municipality in the State of Maryland to have Code section
defining the operation of its newsletter, and <BR><BR>Whereas, Chapter 3 of
the Code of the Town of Riverdale Park limits the powers of the Town Council
to provide Community Services as enumerated in § 302 of the Charter of
Riverdale Park, and <BR><BR>Whereas, Chapter 3 of the Code of Riverdale Park
limits the powers of the Mayor as chief executive and administrative officer
as defined in § 404 of the Charter of Riverdale Park,<BR><BR>Therefore, be it
resolved that Chapter 3 of the Code of Riverdale Park, "Town Crier or
Newsletter", be repealed in its
entirety.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></DIV></DIV></FONT></ZZZBODY></ZZZHTML><PRE>
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