Around the beginning of every year, this newspaper’s publishers
and editorial staff review their efforts from the previous year and outline
goals for the coming year. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be filling you in
on those reviews and plans — and asking for your comments.
           Our news
writers’ work in 2003 covered a wide range of issues, from the county-executive
race and MonroeCounty’s
financial problems to the threat to abortion rights and the war in Iraq.
On the lighter side, we’ve expanded a type of coverage we especially enjoy,
seeking out the unknown, sometimes quirky Rochesterians who add life and spice
to the community. In addition to weekly events articles, listings, and reviews,
our arts and entertainment coverage included our annual guides to Rochester’s
important film festivals, Image Out and HighFalls, as well as guides to such
events as the Corn Hill Arts Festival and the Rochester International Jazz
Festival.
           In 2004,
we’ll continue to strengthen and broaden our arts and entertainment coverage.
And on the news side, a major focus in this crucial year will be the
presidential election. Later this month, we’ll have our analysis of the
Democratic candidates as we head toward the March 2 New
York primary. While coverage of local news is at the
core of our mission, national and international developments are also important
to us. Such news, in fact, has been part of the heart of the nation’s oldest
alternative newspapers, including City,
since our founding during the Vietnam War.
           Our local
news focus this year will include continued coverage of developments in
government and the environment. We remain concerned about the regional economy,
the effect of government action on the poor, Rochester’s murder rate, the loss
of open space, sprawl, poverty concentration, and segregation: not just the community’s
troubling racial and economic segregation, but also the geographic segregation
that breeds divisiveness and parochialism and prevents the Greater Rochester
region from becoming the healthy community it should be.
           We’re
expanding our coverage of issues affecting individual suburbs. We’ll continue
to keep an eye on development proposals for downtown Rochester.
We’ll be devoting substantial resources to an analysis of crime in Rochester.
And we’ll be adding new features both in our news and in our A&E pages,
helping readers learn more about, and enjoy, the community in which they live.
           The goal of
all of this: to provide substantive coverage of the events and developments of
Greater Rochester.
Beyond our pages: Like
many newspapers, City helps sponsor
numerous events presented by local arts organizations, entertainment providers,
and community organizations: concerts, lectures, theatrical performances,
festivals. Particularly in difficult economic times, it’s important for us to
help organizations and institutions that are enriching the quality of life in
Greater Rochester.
           We were
particularly proud to be co-sponsors of new efforts launched in 2003. Among
them: Geva’s Improv series, the Alexander Street Festival, and the wildly
successful Festival of Food (raising money for FoodLink, which provides food,
information, and other resources for the needy, and InterVol, which distributes
medical supplies and equipment in the US
and abroad).
           And for the
fourth year, we partnered with the Landmark Society and the City of Rochester
for our weekly Home Work real-estate
feature, to preserve and promote architecturally significant housing stock in
Greater Rochester.
           In 2004
we’ll continue those relationships and will be adding new ones, to help you help your community.
Now: your thoughts. Story ideas come from our writers, but they also come from you. What should we
look at in 2004?
           We welcome
and encourage your input. You can reach us at 244-3329: (for news, managing
editor Chad Oliveiri, extension 11; for features and events, features editor
Erica Curtis, extension 25). E-mail: themail@rochester-citynews.com; land mail:
City Newspaper, 250
North Goodman Street, Rochester14607-1199.
           Next week:
What is “alternative” journalism?
This article appears in Feb 11-17, 2004.
