Brandon and Pittsford have a new local news source. The all-digital Neshobe Current began publishing online in February with a staff of six volunteers. They're not professional journalists, but instead are community members working to fill the gap left after the area's local newspaper shuttered.
The Brandon Reporter had served Brandon, Pittsford and surrounding towns for roughly 30 years before shutting down last October, citing financial challenges. The newspaper was one of many around the country that have struggled to stay in business in recent years.
Since 2005, 40% of all U.S. newspapers have vanished, according to a report by Northwestern University. Like the Reporter, most have fallen victim to dwindling readership, less advertising revenue and rising printing costs.
In Brandon, however, the community decided it was not ready to give up their local news. Last September, Carey Bunker was one of around 60 people who attended a public meeting to save the Reporter. She said a small group continued meeting and they’re now responsible for publishing the Current online.
“It took a while to figure out who we had on board, who was committed and what people’s strengths were,” Bunker said.
The Current posted its first story on Feb. 11, Bunker said. Now it has nearly 500 subscribers and a loose plan for future fundraising.
"We're still figuring things out," she admitted, but added their mission is clear: Keep the public informed about what’s happening in and around Brandon.
”Our state rep just announced he’s not running for reelection and we’re heading into a second vote for the school budget," Bunker cited as examples. "You know, we want to make sure people don’t lose track of those things.”
Jeff Weston, another Current volunteer, acknowledged there aren't professional journalists on the team. But he said they're not focused on breaking news.
"We're more of a community newsletter than a source of original news," Weston said.
He stressed volunteers are all invested in their community and want to make sure important select board meetings, school issues and budget questions are thoughtfully covered.
For instance, "The recent school budget meeting was really hairy," Weston said. "There was a lot of financial information there that we took a lot of time to get right because it's such a complex topic."
The Current may also highlight the work of other news outlets that may be of interest to the community, Weston said. Residents are also encouraged to contribute things like book and movie reviews.
With a volunteer staff, and no physical paper to print, the publication's overhead is low. Bunker said one of their volunteer members has agreed to cover the cost of their website for the year. After that, she said they hope to become a nonprofit organization, which would enable them to seek out underwriters and sponsors.
The Neshobe Current has the support of prominent Brandon residents including former state Rep. Stephanie Jerome and Bernie Carr, executive director of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce.
“It just highlights the volunteerism and the base of support that’s here for worthy projects,” Carr said.
