Will there be newspapers? * Tea quotations * Hannah D and more * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 13 * July 7, 2013
COFFEE AND THE PAPER:
A RITUAL SOON TO END?
A morning ritual for many people is coffee and a newspaper. Coffeeshops are one of the places where this ritual has been taking place every morning for a long, long time. Some people come in with a newspaper tucked under their arms. Others look around for a paper to read.
During my years at Bill's and Uptown Bill's, customers often have had a choice of three or four daily papers, from the Daily Iowan to the New York Times, from USA Today to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
But something is happening to daily newspapers -- at least the print versions. Circulation is falling rapidly at many daily newspapers in the US. Locally, average daily paid circulation at the Iowa City Press Citizen has fallen from 14,400 in 2006 to 10,300 last year, according to Gannett, its parent company. At the Des Moines Register, average daily circulation has dropped by a third in the last six years, from 147,600 in 2006 to 99,300 last year. The Register is also owned by Gannett.
Each subscriber who quits reduces revenue for a newspaper. In addition, advertisers don't want to pay as much for ads if there are fewer subscribers. This cycle of declining circulation followed by declining ad revenue has led a number of newspaper companies to file for bankruptcy. So will the final result be an end to daily papers?
* * * * *
PREDICTIONS about the death of daily newspapers have been made before. They were made in the 1930s when radio emerged. They were made in the 1950s when television came along.
But newspapers did not die with radio, nor with television. Instead they changed.
I think that's happening again -- daily newspapers are changing not dying. However, I think the changes coming will be much more profound than the changes prompted by radio or television.
I see four major trends emerging for the future of dailies. Ironically, each of the models will make dailies a lot more like community newspapers like the ones I have been writing for over the past 40 years.
1. Distribute the paper free.
There are a number of communities around the US which now have free daily newspapers. This model has been used successfully by weekly and monthly community newspapers for many years. Advertising pays the major share of the costs; voluntary subscriptions the rest.
2. Publish less often.
Some daily newspapers have already dropped one print edition each week. In Ottumwa, for example, the Courier has dropped its Monday print edition. In a few cities, newspapers have stopped printing copies on two or three days a week. I expect more papers to eliminate the printed paper on certain days each week. In 10 years, you might get a delivered paper on Sunday and one other day a week. You would go to the paper's website for the other days. Or maybe the paper would be printed, but you would pick it up on the way to work or school. It would be delivered to your home just two or three days a week.
3. Be more local
Many daily newspapers, such as the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, abandoned the local news coverage they once provided for their core communities. (The Star Tribune is one of the dailies which went so far as to drop the city name from their masthead.) They were going to be regional dailies. But that was a mistake. What daily papers do best is provide very local news and information which can't be found anywhere else. Stray from that and readers stray away, too. A return to more local news coverage is part of the prescription for the future of newspapers.
4. Re-involve readers in the newspaper.
There was a time when you could drop into the office of a daily newspaper with a news tip or story idea. But that's not possible anymore. In fact, you can hardly get past the front door at many dailies. The result is that many dailies lost touch with their readers. Now, number of papers are experimenting with ways to involve re-involve readers in the paper, even in the newsgathering process. Again, this is the model which has been used by community newspapers for many years.
There are lots of other posssibilities, many emerging outside of newspapers themselves. How about a completely online news source, like Patch? Or newsgathering operations which report and write stories and then make them available to newspapers, like Iowa Watch and Pro Publica.
* * * * *
Fran McGovern and Mary Hartmann were the people who introduced me to journalism. McGovern and I met one summer day in 1962, shortly after McGovern had launched a quixotic effort to start a second daily newspaper in Minneapolis. He started the Daily Herald after a strike that spring halted publication of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune.
That was a wonderful summer. First, it was exciting to be in on a new venture. Anyone who has ever worked for a new business or attended a brand new school knows the thrill of creating something from the very beginning.
Second, for the first time since 1948, there was a second daily newspaper in Minneapolis. There were a number of weeklies, but many people wished for a second daily newspaper -- like there had been for many years before.
McGovern, editor of the Minneapolis Argus, a weekly serving northeast Minneapolis, was one who longed to compete with the Star Tribune. The strike gave him that opportunity. Teaming up with an advertising agency executive, McGovern launched the Minneapolis Daily Herald in May of 1962.
I began as a carrier, delivering the newspaper each afternoon. Later, I went to work in the newspaper's office in downtown Minneapolis. And whenever I could, I hung out there, soaking up the lore of journalism.
McGovern was an old-time newspaper guy, the kind you might see in a movie shouting something like "Get me rewrite." He had a million stories to tell and a voice like that of Paul Harvey to tell them.
BUT THAT summer ended all too soon. The strike at the Star Tribune ended and the paper started publishing again. Advertisers quickly abandoned the new daily and returned to the old one. Soon after, McGovern's partner abandoned him. And then a fire destroyed the Daily Herald's offices.
The Daily Herald suspended publication. But McGovern promised the paper would be back. He changed the paper's name to the Daily American and tried several times over the next few years to get the paper going again. Several times during high school I got his call: We're putting out a sample issue; can you help? I did, mostly helping by hawking the paper at busy street corners.
Finally McGovern concluded it was just not possible to publish a daily newspaper. So he started a daily newsletter instead. And that worked. He published that every weekday until his death in 1990.
Once, late in his life, he was asked if newspapers would have a future. His answer, of course, was yes. Why? One reason is that people aren't going to be satisfied with TV news. "They're not going to be satisfied with the TV stuff that spends one-third of its half hour hyping the station and the talking head, another third with commercials and the last third on flashes of a piddling few events that happened..."
MARY HARTMANN was the other person who got me into journalism. Her daughter, also Mary,and I dated in high school. Mother Mary had worked for the Newspaper Guild in Minneapolis and had many stories of reporters and editors she knew. Those names in the papers became real people.
The stories she told me were an inspiration. They led me to a little reporting for community newspapers when I was in high school and a little more for the Minnesota Daily.
My first full-time reporting job was at the East San Jose Sun, a weekly newspaper circulated in the eastern third of San Jose, Calif. I started in 1973. That was an amazing journey in community journalism until the paper was sold to Meredith Corp. in Des Moines. (What happened then is a story for another day.)
Later, I was involved in my own quixotic adventure, the Palo Altan, a weekly newspaper which lasted for 10 years.
I've written a lot of stories over the years for more than 20 different newspapers in print -- and for at least as many publications online. My longest running assignments have been the Hiawatha Notebook column I still write for the Longfellow-Nokomis (Minneapolis) Messenger (since 1997) and the Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter (since 2000).
Despite all those stories and columns over all those years, it's still a thrill every time I see something I've written appear in print (whether in print or online). An even bigger thrill comes from being asked about a story I have written.
COMING EVENTS AT
THE COFFEE HOUSE
Monday, July 8
6 pm AA meeting (Open).
7 pm. Brain Injury Support Group. Also Brain Injury Caregivers Group.
Wednesday, July 10
7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute presentations of poetry and other writings. Presented in cooperation with Little Village magazine. Sign up at the coffee house.
Thursday, July 11
6 pm. Artvaark. Art activities with Dan Wu.
6:30 pm. Artist reception for Matt Foster.
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute slices of music and other arts. Sign up at the coffee house.
Saturday, July 13
3 pm. Family Folk Sing. Join us for an afternoon of folk singing.
7 pm. Saturday Night Music with Hannah Drollinger and friends. $5 cover.
Monday, July 15
6 pm. AA meeting (open)
7 pm. Music with Chris Bell. A coffee house favorite, Chris is best known as the musician who plays the cello like a guitar.
7 pm. Support Group for Individuals with invisible disabilities.
Wednesday, July 17
7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute presentations of poetry and other writings. Presented in cooperation with Little Village magazine. Sign up at the coffee house.
Thursday, July 18th
6 pm. Art activities with Dan Wu
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute slices of music and other arts. Sign up at the coffee house.
Saturday, July 20
7 pm. Saturday Night Music with Nancita Wernett
MUSIC EVERY SATURDAY
ALL SUMMER LONG
July 13: Hannah Drollinger and friends
July 20: Nancita Wernett, singer/songwriter
July 27: Annual celebration of Americans with Disabilities Act
(Performers include: Red Rock Hill, Pennies On The Rail, Bob the Bluesman)
Aug. 3: Angie Pierce Jennings & Drew Hayward, singer/songwriters from Cedar Rapids
Aug. 10: Lewis Knudsen & The Bandits, alternative pop band from the Quad Cities
Aug. 17: Joe Brisben and friends
Aug. 24: Erin Ebnet, singer/songwriter from Iowa City.
Plus Hannah & Maggie, singer/songwriters from New York City.
Aug. 31: Jennifer Danielson, singer/songwriter from Iowa City.
READER RESPONDS TO
'COFFEESHOP LEGACY'
Thank you so much. Having grown up in the Chicago area I had always known of Hull House and Jane Adams and I am sure I was taught about her in Grad School at U of Denver. But, I recall no better description of her work than you included in this Newsletter ("Coffeeshop is part of legacy of Jane Addams. June 16, 2013). I hope to find several of the books you mentioned.
I was involved at the coffee shop down on Gilbert when I first came here. My Compeer buddy and I enjoyed having coffee and browsing the used books.
I am really impressed by the variety of support groups you provide. The support group for adults who are in the autism spectrum really is great - great that the group is provided and great that people are recognizing who needs this kind of support. Have you read "The Journal of Best Practices - a memoir of marriage, Asperger Syndrome and One man's quest to be a better husband?" It is very easy to read and has the best description of the major symptoms of Aspergers that I have read.
I hope that when social service agencies/non profit organizations are listed Bill's is among them.
Marianne Wilkening
* * * * *
PREDICTIONS about the death of daily newspapers have been made before. They were made in the 1930s when radio emerged. They were made in the 1950s when television came along.
But newspapers did not die with radio, nor with television. Instead they changed.
I think that's happening again -- daily newspapers are changing not dying. However, I think the changes coming will be much more profound than the changes prompted by radio or television.
I see four major trends emerging for the future of dailies. Ironically, each of the models will make dailies a lot more like community newspapers like the ones I have been writing for over the past 40 years.
1. Distribute the paper free.
There are a number of communities around the US which now have free daily newspapers. This model has been used successfully by weekly and monthly community newspapers for many years. Advertising pays the major share of the costs; voluntary subscriptions the rest.
2. Publish less often.
Some daily newspapers have already dropped one print edition each week. In Ottumwa, for example, the Courier has dropped its Monday print edition. In a few cities, newspapers have stopped printing copies on two or three days a week. I expect more papers to eliminate the printed paper on certain days each week. In 10 years, you might get a delivered paper on Sunday and one other day a week. You would go to the paper's website for the other days. Or maybe the paper would be printed, but you would pick it up on the way to work or school. It would be delivered to your home just two or three days a week.
3. Be more local
Many daily newspapers, such as the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, abandoned the local news coverage they once provided for their core communities. (The Star Tribune is one of the dailies which went so far as to drop the city name from their masthead.) They were going to be regional dailies. But that was a mistake. What daily papers do best is provide very local news and information which can't be found anywhere else. Stray from that and readers stray away, too. A return to more local news coverage is part of the prescription for the future of newspapers.
4. Re-involve readers in the newspaper.
There was a time when you could drop into the office of a daily newspaper with a news tip or story idea. But that's not possible anymore. In fact, you can hardly get past the front door at many dailies. The result is that many dailies lost touch with their readers. Now, number of papers are experimenting with ways to involve re-involve readers in the paper, even in the newsgathering process. Again, this is the model which has been used by community newspapers for many years.
There are lots of other posssibilities, many emerging outside of newspapers themselves. How about a completely online news source, like Patch? Or newsgathering operations which report and write stories and then make them available to newspapers, like Iowa Watch and Pro Publica.
* * * * *
Fran McGovern and Mary Hartmann were the people who introduced me to journalism. McGovern and I met one summer day in 1962, shortly after McGovern had launched a quixotic effort to start a second daily newspaper in Minneapolis. He started the Daily Herald after a strike that spring halted publication of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune.
That was a wonderful summer. First, it was exciting to be in on a new venture. Anyone who has ever worked for a new business or attended a brand new school knows the thrill of creating something from the very beginning.
Second, for the first time since 1948, there was a second daily newspaper in Minneapolis. There were a number of weeklies, but many people wished for a second daily newspaper -- like there had been for many years before.
McGovern, editor of the Minneapolis Argus, a weekly serving northeast Minneapolis, was one who longed to compete with the Star Tribune. The strike gave him that opportunity. Teaming up with an advertising agency executive, McGovern launched the Minneapolis Daily Herald in May of 1962.
I began as a carrier, delivering the newspaper each afternoon. Later, I went to work in the newspaper's office in downtown Minneapolis. And whenever I could, I hung out there, soaking up the lore of journalism.
McGovern was an old-time newspaper guy, the kind you might see in a movie shouting something like "Get me rewrite." He had a million stories to tell and a voice like that of Paul Harvey to tell them.
BUT THAT summer ended all too soon. The strike at the Star Tribune ended and the paper started publishing again. Advertisers quickly abandoned the new daily and returned to the old one. Soon after, McGovern's partner abandoned him. And then a fire destroyed the Daily Herald's offices.
The Daily Herald suspended publication. But McGovern promised the paper would be back. He changed the paper's name to the Daily American and tried several times over the next few years to get the paper going again. Several times during high school I got his call: We're putting out a sample issue; can you help? I did, mostly helping by hawking the paper at busy street corners.
Finally McGovern concluded it was just not possible to publish a daily newspaper. So he started a daily newsletter instead. And that worked. He published that every weekday until his death in 1990.
Once, late in his life, he was asked if newspapers would have a future. His answer, of course, was yes. Why? One reason is that people aren't going to be satisfied with TV news. "They're not going to be satisfied with the TV stuff that spends one-third of its half hour hyping the station and the talking head, another third with commercials and the last third on flashes of a piddling few events that happened..."
MARY HARTMANN was the other person who got me into journalism. Her daughter, also Mary,and I dated in high school. Mother Mary had worked for the Newspaper Guild in Minneapolis and had many stories of reporters and editors she knew. Those names in the papers became real people.
The stories she told me were an inspiration. They led me to a little reporting for community newspapers when I was in high school and a little more for the Minnesota Daily.
My first full-time reporting job was at the East San Jose Sun, a weekly newspaper circulated in the eastern third of San Jose, Calif. I started in 1973. That was an amazing journey in community journalism until the paper was sold to Meredith Corp. in Des Moines. (What happened then is a story for another day.)
Later, I was involved in my own quixotic adventure, the Palo Altan, a weekly newspaper which lasted for 10 years.
I've written a lot of stories over the years for more than 20 different newspapers in print -- and for at least as many publications online. My longest running assignments have been the Hiawatha Notebook column I still write for the Longfellow-Nokomis (Minneapolis) Messenger (since 1997) and the Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter (since 2000).
Despite all those stories and columns over all those years, it's still a thrill every time I see something I've written appear in print (whether in print or online). An even bigger thrill comes from being asked about a story I have written.
COMING EVENTS AT
THE COFFEE HOUSE
Monday, July 8
6 pm AA meeting (Open).
7 pm. Brain Injury Support Group. Also Brain Injury Caregivers Group.
Wednesday, July 10
7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute presentations of poetry and other writings. Presented in cooperation with Little Village magazine. Sign up at the coffee house.
Thursday, July 11
6 pm. Artvaark. Art activities with Dan Wu.
6:30 pm. Artist reception for Matt Foster.
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute slices of music and other arts. Sign up at the coffee house.
Saturday, July 13
3 pm. Family Folk Sing. Join us for an afternoon of folk singing.
7 pm. Saturday Night Music with Hannah Drollinger and friends. $5 cover.
Monday, July 15
6 pm. AA meeting (open)
7 pm. Music with Chris Bell. A coffee house favorite, Chris is best known as the musician who plays the cello like a guitar.
7 pm. Support Group for Individuals with invisible disabilities.
Wednesday, July 17
7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute presentations of poetry and other writings. Presented in cooperation with Little Village magazine. Sign up at the coffee house.
Thursday, July 18th
6 pm. Art activities with Dan Wu
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute slices of music and other arts. Sign up at the coffee house.
Saturday, July 20
7 pm. Saturday Night Music with Nancita Wernett
MUSIC EVERY SATURDAY
ALL SUMMER LONG
July 13: Hannah Drollinger and friends
July 20: Nancita Wernett, singer/songwriter
July 27: Annual celebration of Americans with Disabilities Act
(Performers include: Red Rock Hill, Pennies On The Rail, Bob the Bluesman)
Aug. 3: Angie Pierce Jennings & Drew Hayward, singer/songwriters from Cedar Rapids
Aug. 10: Lewis Knudsen & The Bandits, alternative pop band from the Quad Cities
Aug. 17: Joe Brisben and friends
Aug. 24: Erin Ebnet, singer/songwriter from Iowa City.
Plus Hannah & Maggie, singer/songwriters from New York City.
Aug. 31: Jennifer Danielson, singer/songwriter from Iowa City.
READER RESPONDS TO
'COFFEESHOP LEGACY'
Thank you so much. Having grown up in the Chicago area I had always known of Hull House and Jane Adams and I am sure I was taught about her in Grad School at U of Denver. But, I recall no better description of her work than you included in this Newsletter ("Coffeeshop is part of legacy of Jane Addams. June 16, 2013). I hope to find several of the books you mentioned.
I was involved at the coffee shop down on Gilbert when I first came here. My Compeer buddy and I enjoyed having coffee and browsing the used books.
I am really impressed by the variety of support groups you provide. The support group for adults who are in the autism spectrum really is great - great that the group is provided and great that people are recognizing who needs this kind of support. Have you read "The Journal of Best Practices - a memoir of marriage, Asperger Syndrome and One man's quest to be a better husband?" It is very easy to read and has the best description of the major symptoms of Aspergers that I have read.
I hope that when social service agencies/non profit organizations are listed Bill's is among them.
Marianne Wilkening
THIS WEEK, TEA
QUOTATIONS
This selection of quotations is for tea drinkers. Did you know that Uptown Bill's
QUOTATIONS
This selection of quotations is for tea drinkers. Did you know that Uptown Bill's
has more varieties of tea than any other coffee house in Iowa City.
Where there's tea, there's hope - Arthur Pinero
When we sip tea, we are on our way to serenity - Alexandra Stoddard
Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea -- Henry Fielding
Twinkle, twinkle little bat
How I wonder where you're at
Up above the world you fly
Like a tea tray in the school -- Lewis Carroll
Have a favorite quote about tea or coffee? Send it to the Newsletter for a
future issue. Write to: tomgilsenan@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's Coffee House. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and now director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to him at tomgilsenan@gmail.com
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open weekdays, 8 am to 2 pm, during the summer. For more information, check the Wild Bill's Coffee Shop and Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop pages on Facebook. You can call the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281. Donations to support the work of the coffeeshop may be sent to: Bill's Coffeeshop Fund, University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244. Contributions are tax deductible.
Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of Wild Bill's. Now in its 13th year, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Located at 730 S. Dubuque, Uptown Bill's is open Monday through Friday from 11 am; Saturdays from 9 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's website or Facebook pages. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0804. Donations to support the work of Uptown Bill's may be sent to: Extend the Dream Foundation, Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Contributions are tax deductible. You can also donate online at the Uptown Bill's website: www.uptownbills.org
Where there's tea, there's hope - Arthur Pinero
When we sip tea, we are on our way to serenity - Alexandra Stoddard
Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea -- Henry Fielding
Twinkle, twinkle little bat
How I wonder where you're at
Up above the world you fly
Like a tea tray in the school -- Lewis Carroll
Have a favorite quote about tea or coffee? Send it to the Newsletter for a
future issue. Write to: tomgilsenan@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's Coffee House. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and now director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to him at tomgilsenan@gmail.com
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open weekdays, 8 am to 2 pm, during the summer. For more information, check the Wild Bill's Coffee Shop and Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop pages on Facebook. You can call the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281. Donations to support the work of the coffeeshop may be sent to: Bill's Coffeeshop Fund, University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244. Contributions are tax deductible.
Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of Wild Bill's. Now in its 13th year, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Located at 730 S. Dubuque, Uptown Bill's is open Monday through Friday from 11 am; Saturdays from 9 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's website or Facebook pages. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0804. Donations to support the work of Uptown Bill's may be sent to: Extend the Dream Foundation, Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Contributions are tax deductible. You can also donate online at the Uptown Bill's website: www.uptownbills.org
posted by Tom Gilsenan @ 6:48 PM
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