NEWSLETTER: Where are we going?

Wow! Just wow. When I started the Biddeford Gazette, I had no idea how well it would be received by the community.

It’s a new year; we have a new president, and I now have a new project that will keep me occupied for the foreseeable future. Thus, welcome to my first newsletter!

WHERE WE ARE:

I did a soft launch of the Biddeford Gazette back in November. But a couple of weeks ago, we decided to make it official and bought a website domain that is exclusive for the Biddeford Gazette.

Within just the first two hours of our mid-January launch, more than 175 people subscribed to the Gazette. 175 people in less than two hours? Holy Cow! The subscriptions continue to climb beyond my expectations.

If you would like to subscribe, go here.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE?

In just the last two weeks, we have:

• Published 11 exclusive news and feature stories, including three guest columns on our Community Voices page

• We have also begun publishing local obituaries.

Traditional print publications charge families hundreds of dollars to publish an obituary. We do it for free and consider it a community service. With our social media partners, we have access to more than 35,000 readers in the Biddeford-Saco area.

• Created a social media page to share and promote Biddeford news from other media outlets in southern Maine, including Saco Bay News, the Biddeford-Saco Courier, MaineBiz and Portland television stations.  All part of our mission to keep our readers informed about what is happening in the community.

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

The future certainly looks bright. Down the road, we hope to expand our operation.

Additional reporting: We have already been contacted by a few former journalists who are interested in freelance work and helping us with our mission of local news coverage;

High School Sports coverage: We are working to develop an internship for high school students interested about a career in journalism;

Improvements: We hope to improve our website design and functionality as we continue moving forward.;

Expanding community voices: We hope to provide an ongoing diversity of perspectives and experience on our pages. If you are interested in writing a column or submitting a press release, please contact us.

In-depth reporting: Next week will begin a three-part series that focuses on the issues of housing in the Biddeford area. This comprehensive project will include interviews with real estate agents, developers, local and state officials and homeless advocates and many others.

Creating an Advisory Council: We are looking for a few people who would be interested in providing guidance and ideas about our news coverage.

Thank you for the support, and please keep reading! With your support and input, we will continue our mission of reporting news and information about the city of Biddeford and its people.

Cheers!

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