By Mike Rhodes
The Community Alliance is going through a transition that will improve the look, content and long-term viability of the newspaper. For us, that means bringing on board a new editor and layout/design team.
Our new editor is Eduardo Stanley. After graduating from film school at the University of La Plata, Argentina, Stanley received a scholarship for post-graduate studies in semiotics at the University of Bucharest, Rumania.
He then moved to Mexico, where he taught at the University of Sinaloa. Stanley later moved to California, developing a career as a journalist and photographer—writing mainly in Spanish.
Stanley also covered stories in Argentina, Colombia, Spain and Mexico. He currently freelances for several media outlets and hosts a radio show in Spanish at KFCF 88.1 FM in Fresno.
We thank Elsa Mejia, our previous editor, for the wonderful job she did for the last year and a half. She is now working at SEIU 521 in their communications department.
The Community Alliance is fortunate to now be working with Ashley and Sergio Cortes, who are the new graphic arts team that has designed this issue of the Community Alliance. Ashley and Sergio are more than just graphic designers; they also own Agape Creative Studios and are the force behind uSpark.
uSpark is of particular interest to us because it is a media provider that is reaching out to a younger audience to get them politically involved through social media. We are hopeful that our collaboration with Ashley and Sergio will ultimately result in the continuation of progressive journalism and amplifying the voice of young people in this community. Our future must include a younger audience.
The changes described above took place under the guidance of the Community Alliance nonprofit board of directors. See the box on this page to find out who is a member of that board. The nonprofit board oversees the Community Alliance newspaper. It is responsible for all major decisions affecting the paper, personnel and significant financial issues. The board is legally obligated to meet once a year but sometimes meets more often. The executive director and editor often attend (but do not vote) at these meetings.
This newspaper also has an editorial board. This group meets monthly to oversee the operation of the Community Alliance newspaper. Members of the editorial board discuss the prior month’s newspaper, articles that will be in the next issue, distribution and any other issues that are brought up. The editorial board consists of members of the nonprofit board, staff and others who have been invited to be on the board.
If you would like to get more involved with our alternative/independent monthly publication, e-mail editor@fresnoalliance.com. We are always in need of more writers and distributors.
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Mike Rhodes was editor of the Community Alliance from 1998 to 2013. He has recently returned to be on the nonprofit and editorial boards of this newspaper. Contact him at mikerhodes@comcast.net.
