July 2008Publisher’s View: Press Attacked!By Steven J. MossLast month hundreds of copies of the View were stolen from boxes located throughout Southeast San Francisco. The theft was likely perpetrated by illegal recyclers, who can make roughly five dollars for every box-load they steal. There’s some irony in larceny that focuses on grabbing stacks of a newspaper that are freely given away, and sympathy can be extended to small-time operators trying to scratch-out a living in tough times. But what’s being stolen is more than newsprint: it’s a community’s right to read their neighborhood newspaper. Media is in the process of radical transformation. It’s quite likely that before too long the daily morning newspaper will disappear, replaced by a combination of streaming text messages, Internet videos, and cable channels. Many of us already get our news through listservs, specialty websites, and public radio stations. Whether we mourn the loss of our daily will depend on our attachment to the visceral experience of turning a flimsy paper page, as well as the quality of what replaces this experience. Regardless of what the future looks like, right now the View provides an essential service to our community. As the City’s longest-running neighborhood newspaper, it reflects our village’s character: independent, strong-willed, and passionate about the value of locally-owned businesses, keeping politicians honest, good public schools, and knowing one’s neighbor. It’s hard to imagine Potrero Hill without its own newspaper; certainly the vision is a saddening one. In the face of these thefts, and a community that’s struggling against the tide of corporate takeovers of our shops and buildings, the View needs your help. If you’re a regular reader please consider subscribing; the best way to ensure that every copy of the paper is delivered to a set of eyes waiting to read it is through individual delivery. And let us know if you see someone taking excessive amounts of papers from our boxes. If you’re a business, let us know whether we might be able to distribute the View at your location. And consider advertising, particularly in the September issue, which we plan to mail to more than 14,000 homes located in the 94107 zip code. And if you’re the person who stole our newspapers, cut it out! Stealing newspaper is like stealing democracy. It ain’t worth the five bucks. |
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