Charting Maine’s Future

Last night, NBC Nightly News broadcast this fairly melancholy report of the business problems of Maine’s largest daily newspaper. In spite of the fawning visuals of Portland’s working waterfront and lighthouses, this isn’t exactly the kind of national news coverage we like to see.

A lot of Mainers are fairly pessimistic about the future of our daily paper. Even though a new group of buyers has expressed interest, it’s hard for most people to see how they’ll overcome the problems of declining ad revenue and subscription rates that have sent the existing publishers into deep debt.

But it’s also hard to imagine Portland without any kind of daily paper. After all, despite its focus on Portland, the Press Herald is widely read all over the state. When its website went down for a few days last month, even some of its crankiest critics at the right-wing discussion forum “As Maine Goes” were griping at not being able to read the news. “I agree that the content is generally rubbish, but I like to at least look at it,” was one representative comment (AMGers never miss an opportunity to complain).

If the Press Herald ceases to publish, some other paper or papers will probably rush in to fill the void. For instance, the Forecaster already publishes different regional editions almost every day, and it also lacks the bigger paper’s bureaucratic management and aging capital plant - the Forecaster could be the JetBlue to the Press Herald’s United.

Or maybe the Bangor Daily News, a paper that still feels heavy and lush with local news reports compared to the Press Herald’s recent weight loss, might hire away some Press Herald reporters and open up a lively Portland bureau.

But neither of these scenarios would be ideal. After all, the Press Herald’s reporters are also the business’s best asset - their local knowledge, writing skills, and connections are worth far more than the printing presses in a digital age. If they lose their jobs and leave the state, Maine will lose a tremendous source of “social capital” - people whose business is knowing and publicizing what’s going on in our communities.

The internet age is often blamed for ruining the newspaper business model, which has traditionally relied more on things like classified ad revenue, print subscriptions, and throwaway flyer inserts than on the value of its core reporting staff and their storytelling abilities. Traditionally, the monetary value of the ads and subscriptions supported the social value of the news.

Now the newspapers’ monetary values - as a place to print and see ads - are becoming obsolete, thanks to the Internet. But at the same time, the Internet age has made the newspapers’ core service - its social connections, content, storytelling, and ability to promote discussion among its readers - more valuable than ever. If newspapers could find some way to capitalize on these values, then this could be a fantastic opportunity for newspapers to radically improve their business models and their reporting.

In other words, perhaps the internet can help newspapers focus on what’s really important to their business model, and even provide some examples for how a 21st-century newspaper should operate.

I have a few ideas for how a print newspaper like the Portland Press Herald could survive in a digital age, and I’ll share some of them here early next week. But we’d love to hear your ideas as well - let’s hear them in the comments!

GrowSmart Maine uses e-mail communications and internet advocacy tools extensively. The internet provides us with remarkable tools for organizing and activating large groups of people, from all over the state, with very little effort or cost. For example, we can send monthly newsletters to thousands of statewide subscribers via e-mail for free - a feat that would otherwise cost our nonprofit thousands of dollars in printing and shipping costs. And we can mobilize that same e-mail network to participate in advocacy campaigns during the legislative session. Our advocacy software is able to match our e-mail subscribers with their local legislators based on their home address, and as a result, people who receive our newsletters and action alerts are able to send messages to their representatives with two clicks of a mouse button. It’s been a good lever for us to pass key legislation these past two years - laws like the statewide building code and the historic preservation tax credit.

Which is why we’d like to direct your attention to Alex Steed, a young Mainer and activist who’s keenly interested in the potential of the internet for advancing grassroots advocacy. He’s a managing editor at MakeSomethingHappen.net, a website that gives users the tools to start a campaign and gather new members until it reaches a tipping point - which could be a fundraising goal, or a certain number of volunteers. The campaigns range from saving the Aquaman hoodie to making election day a national holiday to collecting thousands of pledges to build a skyscraper farm in New York City.

Alex is currently planning a 30-city tour to document and spread ideas about “the next generation of organizing,” and I highly recommend checking out his project. True to form, he’s raising money for the tour with a “crowdfunding” tool that collects small contributions from many donors all over the world. Consider pledging him $5 as well.

We’ll be using more of our own online advocacy tools this coming winter, when a new legislature convenes to hammer out a new budget and we look for ways to advance our “quality places” legislative agenda. Please sign up for our advocacy network if you aren’t already on our list, and be sure to include your home address information (which we will not share with anyone) so that we can match you with your local legislators.

Join us after work this evening at downtown Portland’s SPACE gallery (click here for a map) for our first Smart Growth For’Em!

Right now, several high-profile redevelopment projects in Maine’s downtowns and village centers are generating buzz and moving forward. More and more households and businesses are seeking the sociability, convenience, and reduced costs of living and working downtown. No longer just a specialized niche, “smart growth” projects are becoming the standard in new development.

GrowSmart Maine is planning this social and informational For’Em as a way for YOU to meet others who are working to bring Maine’s historic downtowns and village centers back to life.

Click here for more details about the event - we hope to see you there!

Summit 2008 is coming up soon - just over a month and a half away, on October 10th. This year’s program includes three major keynote speakers from the Public Strategies Group, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Brookings Institution.

The Summit will also include the first of many statewide “listening sessions” that will help inform the scope and issues we’ll address in our upcoming “Climate, Energy, and Prosperity” and “Governing Maine in the 21st Century” projects. Summit attendees will be the first people in the state to set the agenda for these two proposed sequels to our 2006 “Charting Maine’s Future” report.

As a way of thanking our blog readers and subscribers, we’re offering a limited “early-bird” discount on registration to the first 150 registrants. If you’re a contributing member of GrowSmart Maine, you’re eligible for an even larger discount on registration fees.

Click here for the full program of speakers and breakout sessions.

Click here to register online using our secure webpages.

Following the June 12th Public Workshop [PDF file], the Standish Corner Village Implementation Committee met on July 17th to discuss the public’s input and fine-tuned three possible future village concepts for Standish Corner Village. The concepts are three options for how the village might evolve over the next 20 or so years based upon three distinct policy and zoning directions.  These concepts are:

1. Current Zoning and Policies — if current zoning and other policies in place continue;
2. Master Plan — if zoning and policies follow recommendations of the Jan. ‘08 Standish Corner Master Plan [large PDF file];
3. Master Plan Variation — if zoning and policies follow recommendations of a variation of the Master Plan (a modified zoning concept).

See the July 17th meeting materials for descriptions of these three concepts.

For each of these 3 concepts, a detailed evaluation will be conducted including development of 3-dimensional models and photo-simulations (see examples of these techniques here) to help the committee and public visualize the pros and cons of these zoning and policy options.  The committee will review and refine these concepts at its September and October meetings.  They will be presented to the public for their input at an upcoming mid-October meeting.  Stay tuned!

June 12th Public Workshop

Over 50 Standish residents attended the June 12th Public Workshop and provided their thoughtful input on the future of the Town.  The Workshop was hosted by the Standish Corner Village Implementation Committee and the Conservation and Open Space Plan Committee.

Click here for an overview of the presentations and the public workshop. 

The Village Committee sought input into how a village center should evolve over the next 20 or so years.  Residents gave their thoughts on: how the village should look as it’s built; what types of activities should happen there; what form businesses, neighborhoods and parks should take; and, where they should be located. 

For more information or to send any additional thoughts you may have, email Bruce Hyman, the GrowSmart Maine project facilitator, or Bud Benson, the Standish Planning Board Administrator.