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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2009)
It 7 C E £ E B B A T » tò & » M g Ä l Street roots Education * Dialogue * Independence Street papers lay foundation fo r stronger movement BY ISRAEL BAYER STAFF WRITER he North American Street Newspaper Association conference in Denver, Colo., last week brought together 20 street newspapers from across Canada and the U.S, While many newspaper gatherings today can feel more like a wake than a celebration, the mood at the NASNA conference was one of cautious optimism. ‘ Representatives of street newspapers, c including Street Roots, recognize the obstacles before us. Those obstacles include a nasty recession/depression that is dumping thousands of new faces on the streets, along with the challenges of running growing vendor programs and producing a newspaper that appeals to our communities, Pollard, Street Roots’ founder Bryan Pollard Knowing that foundations have more or and a NASNA board member, and I traveled less devalued the idea of media playing a to Oklahoma City to meet with the Ethics part in reporting oh issues of poverty, and Excellence Foundation. NASNA laid out immigration, race, etc. (minus a small to the foundation a humble, yet aggressive number of foundations nationally, including strategy to help build capacity for the McKenzie River Gathering locally), newspapers around North America. street newspapers know that we can’t rely The foundation responded. on foundations to facilitate our future and Street Roots hosted a face-to-face meeting educate the masses,, in Portland to cteate a three-year strategic NASNA also knows plan led by Street Roots’ Board President that local or federal Bruce Anderson. The plan create entailed government programs hiring an executive director and building are riot lining up to capacity that would Support both start-up help street and established street newspapers and newspapers, like we create partnerships with the International see in Europe and in Network of Street Papers, representing ¡100 Africa, where the " papers around the globe. European Union and Shortly after die face-to-face meeting, the United Nations NASNA board of directors began the are helping street process of finding an executive director for a newspaper grow ; new office in Washington D.C., where SR’s capacityand build a -sistertijípefstidet'Se'náé réáídés. Six- . larger m o v e m e n t ■ What we do know is that collectively we have a readership nearing a half million people in 22'cities, includirig Portland. We know that we are challenging stereotypes that have existed for decades around homelessness arid poverty. We know that in many cities, street papers are producing every the same quality journalism as their local counterparts — and sometimes better. We know that by publishing the voices of the streets and creating economic opportunities for people on the streets that we are changing people lives - both those who are experiencing homelessness and readers who have developed relationships with our vendors. 8 So where do we go from here? A little more than a year ago Bryan P H O T O B Y PETER FREEZE Street Roots Executive Director Israel Bayer collects his N A S N A award fo r best interview fo r his conversation with Serbian rebel Srdja Popovic. (Street Roots, Sept. 19,2008) m onths a g p N A S N A Ih red A n d v F reezefroiii. SfreetVibes in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the first executive director the organization has had in its 12-year history. The first year of the strategic plan has already been accomplished - hiring a director, creating ah office, connecting and begriming to work on projects with the International Network, and broadening the NASNA board of directors to better repreSérit our papers in Canada arid to add a fundraising element. This year, NASNA will be building the capacity needed access developing technology that will offer support for the wide array of papers that belong to the. network, developing regional editorial partnerships, and financially building the organization in a way that it will be sustainable in the years to come. Currently, NASNA is gathering best Sisters Of the Road’s Hoedown & Auction Friday, Oct. 23 Í 1 *6 < jflli b * i * IK C , | ; * W * ? i B r RÊTn ■ ( El .1 , 1 b B&V ’ \ V 1 SB Portland Art Museum’s Kridel Grand Ballroom ,- v .. B r Hoedown is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and this year it’s going to be ah extra special affair honoring all the great work Sisters has done in 2009 and celebrating our 30th birthday! . Bring your partner and be ready to twirl to the fabulous rhusic'of Uncle Earl and Casey Neill & The Norway Rats at the Hoedown square dance! z To purchase your tickets to this amazing event - go to www.sistersoftheroad.org or can Monica Beemer at 503-222-5694 ext, 19 Tickets are $85; tables of ten $850 or limited patron tables available for$1,300c PHOTO BY STEFF SANCHEZ. practices for vendor programs, newspapers, volunteering and fundraising that will be shared one-on-one and through modem technology. We are working on building better technology for the Street News Service, a global news wire represeriting papers in 36 counties in 17 different languages, and creating a tier system that will let us better help papers at different levels. They include start-up papers, small and struggling organizations, mid-level and established organizations. All of this came together this past weekend in Deliver, home Of the Denver Voice, a young monthly newspaper in the Mile High City that has been having major success. Workshops included indepth looks at vendor and editorial programs, fundraising, technology, volunteer programs, organizing and much more. Speakers included Denver’s Mayor John Hickenlooper, Patty Calhoun, founder and editor with the Westword (P e n v e r’s weekly) and Cheri .. Horikaia w ithtnePoor People’s Economic Human Rights Commission. In short, the conference was a success. While the mood of street papers around North America remains cautiously optimistic, there’s also a hunger, both on the ground with people experiencing homelessness and editorial departments that recognize that with the collapsing of corporate media, street newspaper have a responsibility to the community and a niche to fill. Whether you have been a long-time supporter and reader, or you just picked up the paper for the first time, you can be proud (hat Street Roots is helping lead the way, not only in our own community but around the globe. You are a part of a . growing movement. Delegates to the North American Street Newspaper Association 2009 Conference gather in Denver. They include vendors fro m the Denver Voice, Street Roots’ sister paper.
