In the 2005 town elections for Deerfield, a small town in southeastern New Hampshire, of the 22 positions on the ballot only 14 had candidates and only two were contested.
“The same people were controlling the towns over and over again. If there were [new] candidates, there was no way to find out what they thought, what their opinions were,” said former schoolteacher Maureen Mann. “We sat around and said: ‘We need a newspaper.’ “
So, a core group of volunteers asked the local public library to be their fiscal agent and applied for a New Voices grant. “If we did get it, we had no idea what we were going to do with it when it came,” Mann said.
“We sat around and said: ‘We need a newspaper.’ ”
The grant was announced in May 2005 and The Forum went online in August with four contributors and eight articles. Now, five years later, the site is a model of sustainability for an all-volunteer operation.
The site now covers Deerfield and three surrounding towns. It averages more than 50 original articles a week and has a roster of more than 350 people who have contributed news, articles, photos, columns, art and literature to the site. More than 50 of these contribute on a regular basis.
The site focuses on local news, regional issues, town meetings and boards, state government, arts and prep sports because local school students are bused to Manchester. They publish three print editions a year: Spring and Fall election issues and a Summer events issue, which are mailed to every address in the four towns.
The site has focused on persuading rather than training citizen journalists. “One of the biggest things we had to do was educate people: ‘You’re the reporter,’ ” said Mann, who spearheaded the launch.
The site has since been awarded its own nonprofit 501(c)(3) status. The managing editor receives a small monthly stipend and an ad sales person works on commission. Advertising revenue now covers the cost of printing and mailing the print editions. Their first annual membership drive exceeded their goals. An annual meeting for all members is held in November.
The site has received more than 3.5 million hits since it launched. The School Board and Select Board now seek out coverage. The local police departments send crime reports. Recreation departments and libraries submit articles.
How do they measure success? The site has received more than 3.5 million hits since it launched. The School Board and Select Board now seek out coverage. The local police departments send crime reports. Recreation departments and libraries submit articles.
Serving 16,000 households in the four towns, the site gets more than 3,000 unique visitors per month who view nearly 65,000 pages; 69 percent of readers visit daily and 43 percent visit more than once a day.
The site has also surmounted another difficult hurdle for many startups: It has handed off leadership to a new group of volunteers after Mann was elected state representative. She continues to report for The Forum. She acknowledges that it was hard to let go.
Giving up control of “my baby” to a new managing editor and Board of Directors was the most unexpected challenge. “I grit my teeth and let go,” she said.