[Nfb-editors] Making the newsletter work

Wed Mar 16 21:43:08 UTC 2011

Gary,

If newsletters follow your example, they can be all you say and more.
Unfortunately, most do not rely on methods as you suggest.

I am not suggesting every publication must turn into literary journals,
but as Mike pointed out recently, people do not want to read
regurgitations of news they have heard often, and people not associated
with the NFB usually do not care about our programs and initiatives
because, and we have all experienced this, they do not believe something
"blind related" is of interest to them.

Bringing an atmosphere of creativity and personal experiences is what
will open up minds-- members and non-members alike.

You said that you did not mention the Blind Driver Challenge by simply
reporting on it, but you brought relevancy to the heart of the BDC by
breathing personal reflections into the facts.

This is what I believe makes a compelling publication.

True, many of the mediums we use to disiminate information does not
archive our efforts nor does it always reach to our core, our over-all
message.  This is why I suggest newsletters do not merely report these
events-- then we are only providing the same exact info with no context.

You also say that affiliate publications allow members, who may hesitate
about submitting to the Braille Monitor, feel more comfortable, and be
surprised should their article end up in our national publication.  This
sounds great in theory, but an editor must first have submissions to
begin with to see this happen.

I am not the only one out on this limb, but I have exhausted ways in
which to drum up enthusiasm for our state publication.  This leaves me
with little to do, and I stand firm that it is not a newsletters job to
report on info that has already been distributed by many of the means
mentioned without contextualizing and reflecting on what this info
means, and how it exist in the souls of members.

In our state, at least, every news release, reminder, advertisement,
legislative hearing and issue, is distributed via email to all members
as well as listed on Newsline.  Our newsletter can be used for reminders
of events and issues coming up, but it should not exist just for this
purpose.

What you suggest is a good idea.  An affiliate newsletter should work
the way you outline, but too many lack the vision and manpower to
accomplish this goal.

Your comment that our other means of distributing info does not allow us
to reflect on the implications of things, or the personal experiences
that reach a broader audience.  I completely concur with this idea, but
once again, many do not view articles in this light, and many do not
attempt to write articles expressing this reflection.

The problem, I believe, is the lack of purpose, vision, drive and talent
with our newsletters.  I think this committee itself really needs to
outline a vision and purpose and drive the point home to each affiliate.

Later today, I will post the current issue of The Nebraska Independent.
In my editor's comments, you will find what my personal vision is for
NFB publications.  This is strictly my vision, but I believe elements of
it should be adopted for our publications to stand the test of time.

Currently, many of our publications are floundering, and all have yet to
discover a much broader audience beyond the organization.  Until we
bring in "outsiders," I truly believe the organization as a whole will
not grow.

When you look at other national organizations, they usually have
diversity among their ranks.  This gives a louder voice to their cause,
and it brings attention to their group that, otherwise, would not have
been spotlighted because not enough awareness occurred.

Until our minority can bring in the majority, we can not accomplish our
goals.  We have won many freedoms; we have drafted legislation
protecting our rights, but we have yet to seep into the mindsets of
people.  True equality can only happen when we practice diversity.

Our written word has the ability to capture the attention of the world,
but not if we don't change our vision.  People don't pick up a newspaper
to be inspired, or to find ways to affect change.  As you mention, we
must become something more so our message begins to tangle itself among
the hearts and minds of people everywhere.

Bridgit

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:05:09 -0700
From: "Wunder, Gary" <gwunder at nfb.org>
To: Correspondence Committee Mailing List <nfb-editors at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [Nfb-editors] Making the Newsletter work
Message-ID:

<5D835FCE86C94346B617F04A46A43140041D772998 at VA3DIAXVS651.RED001.local>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I think an affiliate newsletter can be extremely valuable for a number
of reasons. The Internet with its e-mail lists and blogs is likely to
beat any print publication we can generate in terms of reporting the
news, but it will not often contain the kind of reflection one will find
in an article drafted for a newsletter. In the Braille Monitor I did not
try to tell people that the blind driver challenge took place, or even
that it was successful. If they are the least bit interested in us, they
know this already if they are our own members. I tried to give them
history, a sense of what it was like for one individual to be there with
hundreds of others, and some thoughts about the broader implications of
the work. I also tried to write it so that those who aren't members can
get a feel for what we are trying to do and why.

I think that the newsletter also can chronicle the history of our
affiliates in a way that e-mail and blogs just want allow. The e-mail I
received today or this week is very important to me, but whether it will
be around in another 10 years is a different matter. I suppose I have a
mechanism in place to archive it, but my experience is, that as machines
and software change, some of the information we so prize today quickly
becomes out of date. My machine cannot play a 5.25" floppy disk. Neither
can it play the harder, smaller 3 1/2 inch disks. For a while I thought
we had found a miracle device when a zip disk that would hold 100 MB of
information came out. I don't have a zip disk player anymore either. Of
course, I have used Word Star, Peach Text, Word Perfect, and now
Microsoft Word, but it doesn't read some of the older stuff, especially
if it was generated using the operating system CPM.

I think the state newsletter gives members the opportunity to shine.
Many folks I know won't submit their first article to the Braille
Monitor. They may, however, submitted to the Blind Missourian, and if
that article happens to get picked up by the Braille Monitor, their
confidence will be immeasurably enhanced.

I think we dare not under estimate how often our members look to us to
show them we are doing something and that it is worth being a member. I
had an active committee chairman here tell me he almost switched
organizations because he didn't think we were doing anything. We talked
and he soon realized that a number of us are busting our chops to make
things happen. He apologized and promised to stay involved, but the
message is clear: work like a dog and just assume folks know it, and
they won't. The newsletter gives them a reason to be active because they
see activity all around them. There's nothing better than an affiliate
newsletter to chronicle the legislation we are introducing, following,
or supporting. People like to see their name in print. Some will read
the newsletter if only to see that someone took notice of them when they
attended the Christmas party. For me the question isn't whether or not a
newsletter is still valuable, but whether we will take the time to write
it. We who enjoy the benefits of the computer, the Internet, and all of
the different variations it brings to communication tend to forget how
left out people are who regard computers as Confusers, the folks who
don't feel at all at home with modems and DSL and cable. They depend on
braille, print, and cassette, and to the extent that we don't provide
these things, we are leaving them out. We are wrestling right now with
how to move away from cassettes and still give people something they
feel comfortable using. 

One last thought: We can do a far better job reaching out to those who
don't know us. How many of you send your newsletter to members of your
state's legislature? Does the mayor know how active the NFB is in his
town in the same way the folks of St. Cloud did thanks to Andy Birden?
They can if we send it. Does your family get your newsletter so when you
ask for a donation they know what we do? Do you use your newsletter to
further the relationship you made with the guy on the plane who was
amazed at what you do and was interested in that organization you spoke
so fondly about?

Just some thoughts to suggest that starting and maintaining a newsletter
is worthwhile. So is reading the Braille Monitor, and please help me get
people subscribed. I talked the other day with a Federation leader who
said she had heard we were no longer taking individual subscriptions. I
am not sure what that means except to say that, believing what she had
heard, she didn't try to subscribe.

Gary

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:17:04 -0500
From: "Susan Tabor" <souljourner at sbcglobal.net>
To: "'Correspondence Committee Mailing List'" <nfb-editors at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Nfb-editors] [NFB-editors] Making the Newsletter work-
	the	need -- support equation
Message-ID: <13cf01cbe380$3f3e5600$bdbb0200$@net>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Hello, Barbara and Others:

Thanks so much for this string of comments; they have been really useful
for me!

I began editing the Kansas affiliate's newsletter a little over a year
ago. I had immediate visions of a quarterly newsletter, lots of columns,
lots of info from other sources, etc. 

I've been feeling frustrated because I'm having to set my sights on
about 2 issues this year, though I'm beginning to accept that. I had to
wait for reasons involving a meeting with our new governor which
hopefully will be happening soon. I've had to tell myself that it's OK
to grow slowly, and that maybe I'll learn more if I do that.

Again, thanks to all of you for your thoughts.
Best Regards,
Susan Tabor,
Tap Tracks Newsletter Editor
for the Kansas Affiliate of
The National Federation of the Blind

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Barbara Pierce
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 7:11 AM
To: newmanrl at cox.net; 'Correspondence Committee Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [Nfb-editors] [NFB-editors] Making the Newsletter work- the
need -- support equation

I would add one other element at least to the newsletter equation: the
importance of a vehicle for circulating the affiliate's views on
blindness and the issues that affect blind people through the blindness
and legislative communities of the state. Obviously we could all use an
effective tool for doing this. Doing it badly is probably worse than not
doing it at all. But recognizing the value of getting folks to recognize
the affiliate as an important of the social conversation about
disability and the needs and abilities of blind people is one
significant reason for trying to produce a good newsletter.

I really sympathize with Bridgit's frustration. We have all been there.
She may not be the person to do the job in Nebraska because it is asking
too much of her. Certainly the board needs to recognize her need for
support in the form of actual material to edit. I would suggest that a
lot of useful ground lies between Bridgit's view of what she wants the
newsletter to be and some of the pathetic, thrown-together excuses for a
newsletter that I have seen. Maybe Nebraska could aim a bit lower than
the dazzling product that Bridgit envisions and that we would all love
to have. Robert is right when he says that dipping into other
publications for reprints is a great way to add content and quality to
thin substance. I demand a president's column, and I write a think
peace. We are down to two issues a year, so we have a report of the
state convention in one and an article urging people to attend the
convention and talking about the plans in the other. That provides
another substantial article. If you have resolutions, you can reprint
them, and you can report of awards and scholarships presented.
First-timer reports of the Washington Seminar or the national convention
usually provide something that you can edit into useful articles.
Minnesota has an essay contest. Arizona used to have Kernel Book story
contests. Even without the Kernel Books, we can still try for such
submissions. The Monitor still loves to have such manuscripts. But you
have to have the leadership of the state behind the effort. 

I don't know if this helps or adds more confusion.
Barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Robert Leslie Newman
Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2011 9:25 AM
To: editors nfb list
Subject: [Nfb-editors] Making the Newsletter work- the need -- support
equation

Mike and others
(There are some on here that are looking to start a newsletter, and some
who have weathered the ups and downs of publishing) 

Mike, you bring up a needed topic thread- the "need question," and the
"participation factor;" what does it take to get a newsletter going and
keep it viable? 

What do other's think? Here is what quickly goes through my mind:

There are 3 parts of this newsletter viability equation: 

#1 If an affiliate's voice is, that they want, need a newsletter ---
this is one part of the equation.

#2 If there is a interested/willing editor --- this is a second part of
that same equation.

#3 If there is affiliate support, people who will submit --- that is the
third part of this equation. 

In this case of Bridgit's, here in Nebraska, she is not getting support,
not getting submissions. And as she states, that she's not of a mind,
nor in a position to write up the parts of the news that should be in
"The Nebraska Independent." She even gives us a minimum number of
contributing authors that she feels is acceptable to keep the effort
alive. And so sounds like she is at a crossroads, should she go on with
the next issue? Or should she not, and give over the editorship? (Not
knowing if anyone else will take it
up.) 

Here is one of my thoughts --- If the affiliate says they want a
newsletter, and after a good effort to get submissions, do a good job
editing what you have gotten, maybe borrow some material from other
newsletters, make sure it has a calendar of upcoming events, and then
put it out there. 

*** 

What is a newsletter? I think this is the first question. I bet if we
pool our thoughts, there is a range of acceptability in terms of
contents and literary quality. (Quality would always include grammar and
the mechanics.) 

(In saying any of this, I do not wish to lessen the personal goals of an
editor, as to what type of publication that they would like to pen their
name to.)

Other thoughts? 

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