October 6, 1999 Page 7 Extra! Extra! COMMUNITY NEW5PAPER5 OM THE RISE Daily new spapers, whose circulation has flattened out in Contributing Writer from ANS recent years, understand the Americans complain of free-time trend toward local news, too. starvation and information over­ Sections and local editions de­ load, but they’re not too busy voted to city neighborhoods to keep up with neighborhood and suburban communities are news.The total circulation of now standard fare in m e t - comm unity new spapers, de­ ropolitan papers. In the fined as general-interest papers past, Glick says, the dai­ published less than four times lies never considered a week, grew 6 percent between their sm aller cousins 1996 and 1999 to 48.7 million much of a threat. To­ copies, according to The Edi­ day, she says, they’re in tor & Publisher Co., a New “head-to-head" compe­ York-based firm that tracks the tition that will likely newspaper industry. In that pe­ increase.A ccording to riod, 94 com m unity papers Veronis Suhler & Asso­ were started up.In contrast, ciates, a New York in­ E&P reports, circulation of vestment bank that con­ daily newspapers fell by about centrates on the media §00,000 copies, from 56.9 m il­ and communications in­ lion in 1996 to 56.2 million in d u stry , a d v e rtisin g 1999. The number o f daily sp ending on w eekly newspapers also dropped, from newspapers is antici­ 1,520 dailies published three pated to grow 8.6 per­ years ago to 1,489 in cent to $7.5 billion in 1998.Readers pick up commu­ 2002. The fact that nity papers for lots of different many of the papers are reasons, analysts say, but the d is trib u te d free o f common interest is a desire to charge has contributed connect to their neighborhoods. to their popularity with “These papers may not have advertisers, says Kevin the breaking news, but they do Lavalla, managing di­ have refrigerator news - ar­ rector of the bank. “There had been for ticles you can cut out and put on your refrigerator that will years a perception that affect your family. T hat’s still free-circulation publi­ important to a lot o f people,” cations were not effec­ says Ken Allen, executive vice tiv e a d v e rtisin g v e ­ president of the National News­ hicles, but that percep­ paper Association, which rep­ tio n has c h a n g e d ,” resents some 4,000 general and Lavalla explains. Free papers can offer adver- special-interest newspapers. By Mieke H. Bomann A Tribute to Leroy Vinnegar and His Music Atwater’s will host the Leroy Vinnegar Tribute on Sunday, Oc­ tober 10*h, 1999 from 4 PM to 9 PM. The Atwater’s Trio featur­ ing Mel Brown, Geoff Lee & Andre St. James will play in Leroy’s honor as well as special guests such as Teddy Edwards and many other friends of Leroy. The $25 cover charge will ben­ efit Leroy Vinnegar’s Memorial Trust and will include an appe­ tizer buffet prepared by Execu­ tive Chef Flynt Payne. Bever­ ages are provided no-host. Con­ tributions will be taken at the » door for The Jazz Society’s Leroy Vinnegar Perpetual Scholarship Fund. The tribute will take place at Atwater’s Restau­ rant & B ar’s John Elorriaga Auditorium on the 41” floor. Capacity is limited to 400 persons. Reservations will be taken over the phone & pre-paid with a credit card. Tickets sold at the door will be based on availability (“first come, first served”). tisers nearly 100 percent pen­ etration o f a given market and if they’re part of a newspaper group, can offer coverage of a large area. Most community newspapers are concerned with quality-of- life issues for the neighborhood and in trying to preserve that quality.C om m unity new spa­ pers may lack the edge that characterizes daily reporting, but they can serve the critical function of putting the local community in context with the rest of the world. Many agree that newspaper should be used to bring about a positive social change. By putting people in touch with one another and writing about the lives of ordinary people as being important runs directly counter to an awful lot of the messages people get in society.