October 31, 2004
Various And Sundry Updates And Info
And A Call For Reader Input
Yes, things are still slow around here, as we wait for this election finally to be over. There are a couple of things coming up in the vague near-term, including a discussion of campaign finance reform hosted by the City Club of Portland, and the City Council's taking up of renewal of participation in the Joint Terrorism Task Force. So we will be getting back to our proper and normal coverage.
Meanwhile, we still have some adjustments to make to this site, especially since we expanded the front page to include more than one post again. Doing so raises questions about the best set oflinks for the sidebar, but we haven't yet decided what course to take there.
Finally, we want to open up for reader participation a bit of writing we need to do. In order to participate in a forthcoming fundraising opportunity, we have three things we need to come up with by November 8. They are as follows, and as explained to us by those coordinating the fundraising project which will begin in mid-November:
- A one-sentence slogan.
- 50-60 words on What We Do.
- 50-60 words on Why We're Great.
So while we work on our own versions of these three required elements, we thought we'd open up a discussion on them here. We invite you to submit your suggestions for any or all of these three requirements in the comments to this post.
Comments (6)
Frank Paynter on 31 Oct 2004
A brief general description of the funding opportunity might make it easier for your fans to practice discrete key-wordism as we craft the four or five sentence pitch that will help you get to where you need to go.
Is it a private or public source? Is it designed for community development, media projects, or writer-support? That kind of thing...
The One True b!X on 31 Oct 2004
I don't know how public the thing is at this point, so I can't really talk about it. Think of it this way: I'll be part of a larger collection/listing/publication of individuals and groups seeking money. The listing for Communique needs to make people want to give their money to me.
hilsy on 31 Oct 2004
For the one-sentence part, I have always loved your CES Wood quote. That says most of what your trying to do. Though maybe if you could combine it with another quote or paraphrase and include something about the importance of an informed and discursive community.
The One True b!X on 31 Oct 2004
For the one-sentence part, I have always loved your CES Wood quote.
Oh, good call. D'oh.
tomwsmf on 01 Nov 2004
can we write it in the form of a kaiku?
B!x writes of the city
lets us know what is wrong
send him money or else
Jeff on 01 Nov 2004
What you do is micro journalism--real journalism with almost no budget. You cover critical public policy dialogue that happens beneath the attention of the major news--or beneath the sexiness level they require to move SUVs. (Err, you might not put it that way.) In an era when media has become consolidated, the first subject local outlets abandon by necessity is local news. You're giving voice to the critical discussions that determine a city's course.
I don't know how you want to say it, but you're pioneering new media, and you rock for attempting it, and if someone's got money to give, they'd be damn fools not to give it to you.