I worked as editor and executive director of Spare Change News, an alternative newspaper in Boston that helps the homeless, from 2004 to 2007, and I was excited to receive this press release recently:
Spare Change News will publish its first issue with its new Whats Up Magazine insert on February 28, 2008. The new, four-page section will contain a variety of articles on anything from game show winners and racy cross-stitching to hybrid religions and an advice column, maintaining the alternative voice Whats Up brought to readers for 10 years… The new content will bring a youthful edge to the news and issues-focused content of Spare Change News.
A launch party for the merged publications will be held at T.T. the Bear’s in Cambridge on March 12, part of an ongoing series of concerts and parties organized by volunteers.
“Readers will get four more pages for the same price the paper has always been,” said Kathy Ferguson, current Development Director at Spare Change News and former Program Director at Whats Up. Whats Up was run out of the Haley House in the South End until last November. “We’re excited to have Whats Up back out there. Our content compliments Spare Change’s, and I think people really want independent media that’s both socially conscious and fun.”
Adding Whats Up content to Spare Change News is huge step in revitalizing the street paper presence in Boston, said Emily Johnson, Spare Change News Executive Publisher.
Boston was the only U.S. city with two street papers until last fall when talks began between the two publications; street papers traditionally print articles related to homelessness and depend on homeless vendors to circulate the information. Vendors purchase the papers for 25 cents apiece and sell them for one dollar on the street, earning a 75-cent profit for each paper sold.
This is a wonderful idea from journalistic and business standpoints, and I had advocated for such a change while I was at SCN. It was always impractical for two street newspapers to operate in the same city, especially in one that is as small as Boston.
SCN and Whats Up were never officially competitors; but, for all intents and purposes, they were. They competed for vendors (few of them sell both). They competed for local news on poverty and social justice issues (there is not much news out there on a regular basis). They competed for readers (few people are going to purchase both). They competed for grants and donations (both publications struggled financially).
SCN and Whats Up had their specialties and core competencies. SCN focused on serious news, opinion and analysis. Whats Up covered entertainment, music and lighter fare. Most of SCN’s readers tend to be older, while I presume Whats Up was mainly read by college students and twentysomethings. SCN had more vendors, and the newspaper enjoyed a stronger brand awareness among the general public. However, Whats Up’s offices were located near downtown Boston, which made it easier for their vendors (who do not have cars and cannot always afford public transportation). SCN is in Cambridge.
In addition to the competition, the local business and media climate had been hurting SCN. As I wrote the board of trustees before I was laid off in February 2007:
Mainstream, general-interest newspapers are losing readers to alternative newspapers and the Internet. More free, alternative newspapers distributed from news boxes have entered the market. The Boston Metro has become the dominant paper distributed by vendors on the street. People increasingly want their news for free.
Other publications are taking advantage of emerging demographic trends in Boston: 1.) the large number of educated, affluent, young people; and 2.) the increasing number of wealthy people. SCN has rarely marketed in the newspaper in recent years, and many who knew the paper may have left the city. Boston has a highly transient population.
More businesses, religious groups, charities, cults and salespeople are targeting people directly on the street. As a result, people may be ignoring everyone on the street [out of annoyance] – including SCN vendors. Many just put on their iPods or headsets and ignore everything else. More people are carrying less cash because nearly all businesses take debit and credit cards. The 9/11 attacks and economic downturn likely hurt sales and focused public attention on issues other than poverty. Compassion fatigue may have set in.
I do not know the exact details of the merger, but this may be the only way for a street newspaper to survive in Boston. Combining the two newspapers into one — in other words, creating economies of scale — will be a way to increase sales and revenue while cutting costs. For example, only one administrative department total is now needed to run the office instead of one for each paper, and a single newspaper will now benefit from both publications’ donors. A single publication will contain both hard news and soft features.
I wish SCN – soon with its catchy Whats Up section — the best of luck. I had always believed in its mission to give homeless people a way to help themselves through a bona-fide job selling a newspaper. (“A hand-up, not a hand-out.”) But I just have one request for the new publication: Can someone please put the apostrophe in Whats Up? That always bugged me.
