Over the past few months, those of you who are regular readers of Civic News have noted one big change: It’s now published electronically. Sure, we’ve been posting Civic News the Park Slope Civic Council’s website as a downloadable PDF file for some time now, but distributing it in electronic format is something else. This move has made Civic News more topical, more immediate, and sometimes more controversial.
[pullquote]Our two-way communication should be the catalyst for engaging our neighbors in the life of the community.[/pullquote]The printed issue of Civic News you’re now reading marks yet another phase in the evolution of this longtime publication. We plan to issue it in printed form, in color, four times per year. The printed version will have the look and feel of a magazine and more in-depth content to match, both words and images. The new format gives us the opportunity to feature more in-depth articles about all aspects of the community — what is going on in Park Slope and what went on in the past. And we’ll have room for fun things, too. We encourage contributions from all. We will mail this to our members and subscribers as we always have, and now you will find Civic News at our local merchants as well, free of charge.
This is one part of our multifaceted approach to engaging our neighbors. Besides the electronic Civic News, we have begun to use social media (Twitter and Facebook) to get information out, and back, quickly.
We are looking for ways to use all the media available to us. So we don’t want just to put out Civic News or tweets — we also want to get articles and Facebook posts and tweets back. All well and good, you might say, but so what?
Our goal is not to create a gabfest. The point of this two-way communication is that it be the catalyst for engaging our neighbors in the life of the community. Don’t wait for someone to knock on your door telling of a community board meeting, a Civic Council event, or a parade. Find out. Get involved. So much information is on the Internet, including the Civic Council’s resources, and in our local newspapers. The Civic Council is a long-established, active, and effective advocate for our community. Young, old, new arrival, long-time resident, whatever your station in life, join us. If you don’t have time to devote to one of our many initiatives, take part as your time allows, or let’s have a cup of coffee and exchange views. But don’t sit back. Our community changes every day, in plain sight. Help shape that change.
So whether you get the new Civic News in the mail, pick it up where you get your morning bagel, or read it online, let us know what you think and send us what you would like to see printed.
— Michael Cairl is the president of the Park Slope Civic Council. Send ideas and comments to civicnews@parkslopeciviccouncil.org, and register for e-mail updates on this website.
from the Winter 2011 Civic News