By KIT SLACK
Streetcar Suburbs Publishing, the nonprofit that publishes this hyperlocal news website, approved our first strategic plan on June 27. Over the next five years, we will strengthen and connect three distinct, diverse communities in Prince George’s County — Hyattsville, College Park and Laurel — through high-quality local journalism.
This year marks our 20th anniversary. We started in 2004 as Hyattsville Community Newspaper, Inc, publishers of the Hyattsville Life & Times — a tiny paper that, nonetheless, frequently won national awards. From the beginning, we have focused on celebrating the civic organizations that bring people together in our communities, and on providing the information that allows community participation in local, municipal democracy.
Four years ago, during the pandemic, College Park residents started the College Park Here & Now under our nonprofit umbrella, and we became Streetcar Suburbs Publishing, Inc. And in 2022, a committee of volunteers in Laurel helped start The Laurel Independent, our third newspaper.
In 2023, our board conducted an internal review that led to the hiring of our first executive director (that’s me). Over the past year, we built on that review to develop our strategic plan, studying local journalism needs in our area, and working together to identify opportunities within our organization to grow our revenue, expand our service and support our staff.
The strategic plan we created is already in motion. We have chosen four key priorities to focus our work:
- Providing in-depth local journalism to reach audiences wherever they are
- Deepening community connections, including exploring how we can better serve Spanish-speaking residents
- Growing our financial sustainability to invest in our staff and in local journalism
- Investing in staff across all levels of the organization — our greatest asset
Priority 1: Provide in-depth local journalism to reach audiences wherever they are.
To accomplish our first priority, we are investing more in covering city government and community organizations, our core coverage focus. We are strengthening our digital services, in particular our social media presence, so we can meet residents more fully in the places they go looking for news and information. And to address the gap that has grown as other sources of county news have dried up, we are expanding our coverage to include countywide issues affecting residents of Hyattsville, College Park and Laurel. We have also launched a bi-weekly email newsletter, with easy sign-up on our website.
Priority 2: Deepening community connections, including exploration of how we can better serve Spanish-speaking residents. To reach new and underrepresented readers in our communities, our staff and board members will engage with diverse community leaders throughout our service area, networking one-on-one, attending community meetings and building partnerships. We also plan to have a more consistent presence at city forums and events, and to communicate with our readers throughout the year about the work of our organization so readers can get to know us better.
Priority 3: Grow financial sustainability to invest in our staff and in local journalism. In order to accomplish our first two priorities, we are already working to ensure our financial sustainability by increasing revenue from grants, donations and advertising. Our next step will be to conduct audience surveys so we can learn more about what you value about our service and build from there.
Priority 4: Invest in our people across all levels of the organization — our greatest asset. Our organization relies on board members who are strong nonprofit managers and organizational leaders; many of them are also news industry veterans. And we rely on staff who are brilliant writers and careful editors. As we increase our financial sustainability, we aim to better compensate our newsroom staff, and by growing deeper and broader connections in our communities, we are eager to recruit more voices from underrepresented communities.
Here at Streetcar Suburbs, what we most love about our jobs is working with and for you, our readers, and we look forward to connecting with you even more as we go forward. Please subscribe to our new newsletter, The Streetcar Suburbs Spotlight. Keep an eye out for our reader survey, coming soon. And as always, send us your news tips and ideas, and consider donating to support our work. Thank you for joining us in this effort!