Media has an opportunity to tap into the desire for a sense of community

https://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2018/11/04/Media-has-an-opportunity-to-tap-into-the-desire-for-a-sense-of-community

I was recently lucky enough to get to go on vacation, which included a stop in New York City. Seeing the hustle and bustle of the big city was great, and filled with many memories. Near the top of that list was a chance to see up close the Statue of Liberty.

It was inspiring to see it with my own eyes, and think about the immigrant paths of my family and that of my wife’s along with the hope this statue brought to them and so many other families over the years. But I also looked on with a sense of pride, as I had just recently learned about the important role newspapers played in building of the Statue of Liberty.

The statue itself is a gift from the French, but the pedestal on which she stands needed funding. In steps Joseph Pulitzer, who made it a crusade of sorts to get that money raised. In the pages of his newspaper the New York World, he raised over $100,000 which was more than enough to finish the job. How appropriate that the base of liberty was built by newspapers.

That ability to rally a community and help it to be a better version of itself is one of the many things I love about this industry. And despite the troubles in the industry, newspapers are still building better communities today.

I did not know Matt Tully. To my knowledge, I never had the pleasure of meeting him, yet I couldn’t help but shed a tear as I read about his recent passing. Tully was a columnist for the Indianapolis Star, and Tully helped build communities.

Matt Tully died of cancer in late October. The story of his passing reminded me of what is good in media, and I hope the industry is reminded of the opportunity we are given each day. No doubt as I read about Matt that he took those opportunities and did some great thing. My favorite story started back in 2009, when Tully decided to focus on inner-city schools and tell their stories. He took a typical story assignment, added his passion and ignited a community. The pinnacle was the Christmas concert put on by the choir which, thanks to Tully and the many readers of his column, was attended by over 2,000 people. Most of those people had no direct involvement with the school. They were there because of the call of Tully and the Indianapolis Star. People wanted to be a part of something special, and I believe many yearn for a sense of community. Media and newspapers specifically have a chance to be that conduit to make things like this happen in small towns and large cities.

Building community is not an easy endeavor. While a newspaper wants to build up a community, it also has to report on the bad things too. So finding that balance is never easy. But here, I believe, is every newspapers opportunity.

Nearly every newspaper does a progress edition. It gets called different things at different publications; progress edition, focus edition, community annual report. Instead of doing the same stale section that only looks at the heath care, business and industry, retail and education which rarely changes much from year to year. Look at those topics, or other topics if relevant in your market, and find ways to rally the community.

Rallying the community around a project or a specific need may not generate 2,000 people, but all you might need is the right people to step up. The cities and towns we serve need our help, and taking the annual progress edition and making it important again will have impact. Our advertisers, local business want this too and I believe that not only will rallying the community be good for the community, it will be good for business.

I’m not saying you’ll get 2,000 people at a Christmas concert; but I’m not saying you won’t. Pulitzer’s fundraising for the Statue of Liberty didn’t rely on the bigwigs with deep pockets. It was his average, every day reader that made the difference. In fact, over 125,000 people donated to the pedestal for Lady Liberty, meaning the average donation was only 80 cents.

The newspaper’s ability to tell a story and help change the world is evident every day in the pages published. Focusing on building community through the annual progress edition is an excellent place to build a community and ignite a readership base.