Biddeford Adult Education – BIDDEFORD GAZETTE

Another busy week. This seems to be a pattern.

This week, we are busy planning for two upcoming events that are especially relevant to our mission of providing an “embedded-approach” to community journalism.

On Thursday, we will host our third quarterly meeting of our Community Advisory Council (CAC). We put this group together last year to set the Gazette apart when it comes to community news reporting.

How can you possibly cover community news without direct and regular feedback from the community?

Our CAC group has three new members and they will be welcomed with light refreshments but a heavy agenda of discussion items.

Secondly, I will again be facilitating a broader community conversation about local journalism as part of the Biddeford Adult Education Department’s enrichment course offerings. Maybe you’d like to be part of that conversation?

I am finalizing materials for that class offering and will be conducting a brief community survey that will be used to both inform our CAC members and those who participate in our formalized community conversation.

Is it just talk?

You may have noticed that several weeks ago the Gazette has adopted a new tagline, which includes the following statement: “Brace For Impact.”

What does that mean? From our perspective, it basically means that when you read the Biddeford Gazette you should be prepared to be impacted. Sometimes, the news will be difficult and troubling | Housing authority dismisses its executive director.

Sometimes, the news – such as our weekly obituaries – may make you feel sad.

Sometimes, the news will make you feel happy – warm and fuzzy — such as this week’s two exclusive feature stories –about a Biddeford woman who will soon turn 100; and a story about some third-grade students who planted a tree at the community center to celebrate the upcoming Arbor Day holiday.

Sometimes, the news will make you feel anxious or concerned, such as our in-depth reporting on this year’s municipal budget.

No matter what – whether it’s our community calendar or the opinions we share from your neighbors – all of it – impacts you.

So, get ready . . . and brace for impact – – because we’re just getting started.

Reporting from the front lines

What is embedded journalism and what does that really mean?

We think it means that a community newspaper should be much different than its larger, daily counterparts.

When you work at a community newspaper – and you are personally embedded in that community – the job can be rewarding, tricky and challenging for you . . . and for your readers.

It’s likely that you will see the same people you are writing about at the grocery store or at a Saturday afternoon Little League game.

It means that your readers know you – maybe even where you live. They likely know your family. You sometimes feel pressure from your friends. You want to accommodate every request.

The Biddeford Gazette is the only professional news source embedded in the city of Biddeford.

Embedded journalists in Tehran offer their readers a unique perspective about the ongoing conflict in Iran that can’t be done from the relative safety of a newsroom in New York or Washington, D.C.

It is the same principle when it comes to much smaller and more focused community news coverage. We can offer our readers unmatched historical context and information from sources that we have cultivated over decades.

We pay the same taxes you pay. We drive on the same streets you use. Our children attended the same schools. We enjoy the same beaches and parks. That’s the benefit of embedded journalism.

A cold, miserable night on UNE’s campus

Another example of embedded community journalism: Several days ago, my friends and I were relaxing at Mulligan’s Tavern. I got talking with some student athletes from the University of New England.

They were so excited when I said the Gazette could cover some of their games. Some members of UNE’s Club Lacrosse Team followed up that conversation and called me, asking if I could please cover their last game of the season on Saturday.

I was tired and not feeling well on Saturday. The weather was cold and damp, but I dove to the campus and sat in the cold drizzle, covering the game. It was a promise I made. It was a promise I kept.