The September issue of the Echo will mark four years since I committed to reintroducing the paper to the community. With issue 12-4, I will also begin to slowly withdraw from some of my multiple roles of producing the paper. By the time the November issue (12-5) is being prepared, I will need to have transferred most of my responsibilities to other capable hands.
If the Echo is to continue, that means people will be needed to take over such things as:
- accounting and billing
- graphics and layout
- volunteer coordination for distribution
- seeking out advertisers
- maintaining the Echo website
I think it would be best to find people willing to take over as editors of specific sections. The paper could be much improved if we had editors working with people interested in specific aspects of Lowertown. The sections that would profit most from a sharper, constant focus are:
- news;
- arts & culture;
- community; and
- business
It is a challenge to find the right articles for a paper that is published only five times per year. Newsworthy items might be too far in the past while coming events aren’t yet being publicized or promoted or even a certainty. Having people connected and more tuned into those sectors of Lowertown will help.
A volunteer, community newspaper can only exist with community support. As usual, the more people involved, the lighter the workload and the more enjoyable the experience. Something like distributing the paper on one of the routes takes less than an hour. That’s less than five hours a year to give back to your community. Five hours of exercise, fresh air, and possibly a few neighbourly conversations along the way.
Working on stories that are of interest to you can enhance the ties to the subjects and people that you interview, perhaps leading to further involvement.
Think about how you might contribute to keeping the Echo vibrant and meaningful to our community. Consider how you can help the paper live up to its motto, “Reflecting our community.”
John Chenier, Editor