In our last issue of 2023, which marked our one-year anniversary as an independent nonprofit, we ran an ad that got a good bit of attention, at least as far as I can tell by the number of comments I’ve received about it around town. In the ad, we let it be known that we’re looking for writers and editors to take on some of the responsibilities of putting the paper together. It’s been an exhilarating and exhausting year, but the team needs to expand in order to keep this endeavor going. We’d like to explain.
When George Fjeld, Barbara Ebling, and I took this project on over a year ago, it was with the intention of creating a community-supported newspaper that reflected the breadth and depth of the communities we serve. There was a very real possibility at the time that if someone didn’t step up and assume responsibility for the paper, it would disappear. We believed then, as we do now, that the paper is too valuable a resource to let slip away. We believe that the paper is a crucial element in maintaining a sense of community cohesion. Without it, it would be very easy for the various segments of our communities to drift apart.
We didn’t jump into this blindly. But we’ve found over the past year that relying on a team of essentially three people (myself, Mr. Fjeld, and Sepi Alavi, our graphic designer) is not a sustainable business model, for several reasons.
First, if any one of us were to become unavailable, the paper would cease to function. We sometimes joke that if any one of us were hit by a car, the paper would fold. We made it through the first year without missing an issue, but there were some close calls and we did have to delay publication by a day once or twice because of challenges that popped up unexpectedly. It doesn’t make sense in the long run to rely entirely on just the three of us to put the paper out every week. We need a bigger team in order to provide the necessary redundancies.
Second, it’s often impossible for us to cover all the meetings and events that should be covered. We can’t be everywhere we’d like to be, and we often have to make decisions about what to cover based on whether we can get to the event. On occasion we’ve had to miss events and meetings that we’d like to have covered. Though we do often get material from outside contributors—and are very appreciative—we need a bigger team in order to provide adequate coverage of the towns we serve. We need writers who are willing to attend Selectboard and other municipal meetings in addition to the more exciting stuff. Folks rely on us to keep abreast of what’s going on in our towns and we’d like to be able to provide that service reliably.
Third, it’s not wise for the bulk of our content to be produced by just one or two people. We try to provide quality material every week, but the demands of the schedule sometimes don’t allow us to spend the time we’d like on every story. And it’s probably healthier to have a wider range of voices in the paper. As much as I enjoy writing, I never intended the paper to become primarily a showcase for my own work.
And, lastly, Mr. Fjeld and I cannot perform these services indefinitely, especially since neither of us is receiving any compensation (nor is either of us seeking any). We took on this responsibility because we care deeply about our community, but it’s not a project that we can sustain by ourselves in the long run. We need to train others to take over the management of the paper so that its survival isn’t completely dependent upon us.
Over the course of the year, we have taken on more and more of the responsibilities that our former parent company, the Addison Independent, was providing for us. Doing so has prompted us to hire an assistant to help manage these new tasks as well as alleviate some other pressures. But we still need writers, and we still need someone willing to learn the editorial operations so that I can begin to transition to a more supervisory role rather than the week-to-week management I’ve been doing.
We also need an advertising manager to help us grow our advertising revenues in order to support a larger team. It’s a position that requires interpersonal and organizational skills.
Although George and I have not drawn salaries, we recognize that this is not a possibility for the vast majority of people who might be interested. Our means are limited but we do intend to make these paid positions to the best of our ability.
We spent the first year getting our sea legs and establishing good will with our readers. We now need to spend the next year making sure that The Reporter can continue beyond the participation of its current staff. If we’re unable to build a long-term team, we cannot guarantee the survival of the paper. We would not have given so much of our time and energy to this project if we had any intention of shutting down, but the reality is that we cannot support the entire operation ourselves indefinitely.
Anyone who is interested in exploring editorial/writing positions should contact me at sjupiter@brandonreporter.com. Anyone interested in ad management or operations should contact George Fjeld at george@brandonreporter.com.
Anyone who’d like to talk about other ways that they can support the paper, whether through donations or other services, should please feel free to contact either of us as well.
The first year was, from our perspective, a great success. We hope you’ve enjoyed The Reporter will help us find a way to keep it going.
Thank you.
