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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>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:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<pre><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>“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. <o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>“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.<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>“So now, once again we have a local paper, ‘The Hyattsville Life & Times.’”<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>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 <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Riverdale</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. 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.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>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 <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Riverdale</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Park</st1:PlaceType> to help produce a <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Riverdale</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> 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. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>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). <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>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. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>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 <a
href="mailto:sclements55@earthlink.net">sclements55@earthlink.net</a> to
discuss.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Best wishes for continued success in your community-building
efforts –<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Chris Currie<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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