<div dir="ltr">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. <div>
<br></div><div>You end up with a better municipal newsletter and a comprehensive and independent community newspaper to boot. </div><div><br></div><div>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. </div>
<div><br></div><div>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.</div>
<div><br></div><div>It would be great to see something similar in Riverdale Park.</div><div><br></div><div>Chris Currie</div><div>Hyattsville</div><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Message: 3</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 19:34:43 -0400 (EDT)</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">From: Audrey Bragg <</span><a href="mailto:abragg7393@aol.com" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">abragg7393@aol.com</a><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">></span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">To: </span><a href="mailto:towntalk@riverdale-park.org" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">towntalk@riverdale-park.org</a><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Subject: [RP TownTalk] town crier</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Message-ID: <</span><a href="mailto:8D14A76DE7D27CD-1594-2A323@webmail-d165.sysops.aol.com" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">8D14A76DE7D27CD-1594-2A323@webmail-d165.sysops.aol.com</a><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">></span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">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.</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">fondly,</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">audrey</span><br></div></div></div>