By Richard Stone*
Congratulations to us all, supporters and staff alike: We did it! In just a couple of months, we have gathered more than $10,000 (including $5,000-plus from Editor Emeritus Mike Rhodes’ farewell dinner), and we received close to $1,000/month in pledges to pay new staff and keep the Community Alliance alive.
But we still don’t have an editor. We had three close calls, including two actual hires. But other circumstances prevailed, and our search continues. (Anyone with journalism experience want a big responsibility/low pay position that is infinitely exciting?) So our editorial board has conspired with other staff and content coordinator Tim Savage to keep the news flowing. We have formed several bureaus to capture news from different areas of city life and developed a method for prioritizing articles and organizing the paper.
In the beginning, this process may be a bit uneven, and we welcome your criticism and suggestions, as well as asking for your patience. But we expect to keep on top of Fresno news from the progressive perspective as you have come to expect from us, and we pledge to keep our writing standards up to snuff. You will in fact see many of the same columnists and reporters you are used to, hopefully some new ones and maybe an occasional contribution from Mike, who is not retiring in any sense of the word.
Mike created a newspaper that Fresno can be proud of, whose scope and purpose is unusual anywhere (no less Fresno), perhaps even unique. With the recent addition of our high-quality Spanish-language section, our reach and influence may well be growing significantly in the next few months. We will do all we can to keep this Fresno gem a-glow.
*On behalf of the Community Alliance staff.
