Who Says No One Wants to Own a Weekly Newspaper?
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Who says no one wants to own a weekly newspaper? Essay contest draws 140 would-be buyers for Hardwick Gazette in Vermont; 25 of the submissions presented here for the first time volume 59, no. 4 • winter 2018 grassroots editor • winter 2018 Table of Contents Hardwick Gazette contest drew Investing the sum of my years Uber driver dreams of a fresh start entries from all walks of life of service into this new challenge Page 17 – even an Uber driver Page 12 By CHAD STEBBINS Don’t overlook me because I’m Page 2 Bringing the tradition of Herman young Husband to the Gazette Page 18 A quest into the unknown Page 12 By ROSS CONNELLY Preserving moments for a time Pages 3-6 The tide will turn for newspapers when no one now living is left Page 13 to tell the tale Who saves Internet posts Page 18 in a binder? No catty gossip would be allowed Page 7 Page 13 I’m not a journalist, but an observer, a writer and one who Community in my heart Keeping local journalism viable relishes an honest day’s work Page 7 Page 14 Page 19 Why I’d like to own and operate Newspapers are our only Being a voice for the voiceless The Hardwick Gazette certainty of freedom Page 19 Page 8 Page 14 ISWNE internship the best way The Gazette would also ‘Read local’ says energetic essay to spend a summer function as our nursery contest entrant By KYRA HAAS Page 8 Page 15 Page 20 Nostalgia, skill and a flood of Gazette is the oxygen of The charter school movement: ideas all in one package democracy An exploratory study of education Page 9 Page 15 news coverage in community newspapers Missing a weekly’s closer My faith in Vermont is unrelenting By MELONY A. SHEMBERGER connection to its readers Page 16 Pages 21-26 Page 9 A glutton for punishment: A case study of a rural, Hispanic Paper Caper Why I would like to own and newspaper in the Midwest Page 10 operate a paid weekly newspaper, By RAFAEL GARCIA founded in 1889 and GLORIA FREELAND Telling the story of a town Page 16 Pages 27-35 Page 11 A desire to return home from Being Davids in this Baghdad Goliath-media world Page 17 Page 11 1 grassroots editor • winter 2018 Hardwick Gazette contest drew entries from all walks of life – even an Uber driver Editor: Chad Stebbins When Ross Connelly announced his plans in May 2016 to run an essay contest Graphic Designer: Carl Fowler to find the next owner of his Hardwick Gazette in Vermont, I was intrigued. Would it Grassroots Editor (USPS 227-040, ISSN 0017-3541) really work? Would 700 people actually plunk down $175 each to have a shot at is published quarterly for $50 per year by winning the newspaper? What types of people would enter the contest? the International Society of Weekly As it turned out, people from all walks of life entered. There were journalists, Newspaper Editors, Institute of International Studies, Missouri Southern entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, lawyers, retired couples, students, and even a State University, 3950 East Newman foreign correspondent and an Uber driver. Some entrants originally hailed from Road, Joplin, MO 64801-1595. foreign nations. Many wrote passionately about the lofty heights of journalistic Periodicals postage paid at Joplin, Mo., and at additional mailing offices. endeavor, as though it were a holy calling. Some were more pragmatic, discussing POSTMASTER: Send address changes methods of leveraging digital media and advertising revenue. A few even noted that to Grassroots Editor , Institute of they had no experience in journalism whatsoever, but simply thought it would be International Studies, Missouri Southern “fun to run a newspaper.” State University, 3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin, MO 64801-1595. Ross was kind enough to turn over the 140 anonymous entries to me. Because Volume 59, Issue 4, Winter 2018 this type of contest with a newspaper as the prize had never been run before, I thought it was important to preserve some of the essays for historical reasons. I even envisioned a few university journalism professors using them as an assignment, having each student select the best one. In the end, I decided to publish only 25 of them in Grassroots Editor . Brian Palmer, my administrative assistant who is also my former journalism student, and I President: Marcia Martinek selected the ones that were the most interesting and insightful. We did only minimal Herald Democrat editing, as we wanted the entries to speak for themselves. Leadville, Colorado It was difficult, but there were some that stood out for various reasons. Some Vice President: Dr. Deborah Givens Eastern Kentucky University attempted humor, and others submitted poetry. Many read like a résumé, with little Richmond, Kentucky detail about what the entrant’s plans would be for the future. Several said, “Don’t Executive Director: pick me; I just want the paper to survive.” One entrant had already assembled a Dr. Chad Stebbins, Director, Institute of team that would travel with him. Some were students, still working for their International Studies, Missouri Southern State University, 3950 E. Newman Road, university’s campus newspaper. One entry even came from a dog. Joplin, MO 64801-1595 There were a few entries from people who had traveled across the country just Phone: (417) 625-9736 Fax: (417) 659-4445 to visit the area and its residents. Though Ross refused to visit with them directly (to E-Mail: [email protected] avoid bias), the entrants came away with respect and admiration for the Hardwick area and its people. EDITORIAL BOARD: Some of the entries were quite similar in scope and tone; most of these were of Deborah Givens Eastern Kentucky University the “résumé-type” mentioned. Others were more personal, recounting a moment in John Hatcher the entrant’s past where the story became more than just a job and journalism itself University of Minnesota-Duluth revealed its holistic nature. Some of those entries were particularly emotional, both Kristy Hess for the author and the reader. Deakin University (Australia) One of the entries came from the former editor-in-chief of the student newspaper Harry Hix Retired I advised for 15 years. Even though his name was not attached to his essay, I Jean Norman recognized him immediately. Weber State University Even though Ross had a 100-point scale to judge the entries (based on structure, Bill Reader creativity, thought and the conveyance of capability, and the desire to operate a Ohio University weekly newspaper), I’m not sure that his team could have easily selected a winner. Michael Clay Carey Samford University Perhaps you will have a personal favorite among these 25. It makes for Marcia Martinek fascinating reading, to see the various approaches all these people took and their Herald Democrat , Leadville, Colorado passion for wanting to own the Hardwick Gazette . Al Cross –Chad Stebbins University of Kentucky Helen Sosniecki Retired 2 grassroots editor • winter 2018 A quest into the unknown By Ross Connelly on charges of trespassing. And, one I’ll never forget, was the time I received a call from What to do? Vermont’s then secretary of state telling me I needed to apologize That was the question that weighed on my mind in 2015 as I to the Hardwick Select Board because our reporter refused to saw my 70th birthday come and go. leave a public board training session at the board chair’s home. My late wife and I bought The Hardwick Gazette almost three The chair told the secretary of state the Gazette’s reporter’s refusal decades earlier. She died when I was in my just-passed mid-60s. I to leave caused the burning of a frozen lasagna the board chair was carried on, week to week, year to year. But, yes, BUT, that was the preparing for the board’s lunch. I declined. question: but, what to do? There were state championship games for local high school A few years before my wife died, we contacted a broker. That soccer, basketball and baseball teams. A local resident was a two- was not a good experience. time member of the men’s U.S. Nordic Olympic Ski Team. Four I talked to a few people I felt could take over the Gazette . Not members of the women’s U.S. Nordic Olympic Ski Team that com - interested. peted in Sochi, Russia, trained at the nearby Craftsbury Outdoor My son was on another career path. Center. The center also hosts world-class rowers, and is in an on- A few weeks after my wife died, I stopped into our post office going spat with summer lake dwellers as to whether the shells on a Saturday morning and ran into a person who works for the should give more time on the long, narrow water body to water town. She offered condolences and asked what I was going to do, skiers. implying she wondered if I planned to stick around or would leave. The conversation in the post office stayed with me: “The town I responded, not knowing what else to say, I planned to get out needs you. We need you.” next week’s paper. She was appreciative: “The town needs you. Citizens have a right to know. They can’t know the news if it We need you.” isn’t reported. Getting out next week’s issue was my focus. With the help of So, what to do? some long-time staff members, a topnotch reporter, experienced I put ads in Editor & Publisher , such as it was by then, and told correspondents and a lot of community support and encourage - the staff of my plans.