One thing I noticed about the publications we have researched is that many of them are similar. They start with some impetus of protest or community need.
The Crier of Port Hope wanted a better newspaper in town. Ward 9 Community News (the earlier name for Beach Metro Community News) was protesting the Scarborough expressway. Voice of San Diego wanted quality investigative journalism to keep city hall responsible.
It’s interesting to consider why Beach News is still publishing while the Crier folded. Port Hope stopped publishing after about a year and a half; at the Beach the founders left after a year or so but were replaced and the paper still publishes today. The manager at the Beach News explained the death of the Crier saying, “Oh, they burned out” — just as the first set of Beach News volunteers had.
That also shows the need to have broad support to keep thing going. When the seed grant for the Beach paper ran out, volunteer carriers canvassed their routes, asking for two dollars from each house. They collected $7,000. That points to one reason the newspaper has such a strong place in the community: its volunteer network.
Distribution costs them little, because they use volunteers (they pay a little to the drivers for gas money). Their distribution network also strengthens their ties to their community. Every person in the Beach is only two degrees from the paper, because it is delivered by their neighbour. That can be strengthening and stabilizing.
That also gives the paper a human face. If I disagree with something, there is someone I know whom I can tell.
There is a great value for a community venture in having a good network.