As we plan for a new year at Island Institute, I am reminded of the important role that this newspaper plays in our mission. Through our columnists, contributors, and expert staff, we provide accurate and inspiring information about the issues you care about, connecting readers from all over the globe to a shared understanding of the coast of Maine.
The Working Waterfront links our readers to the communities they love, provides a platform for the exchange of ideas, and puts a human face on the issues shaping our coastline, from the quotidian and humorous to the profound.
In 2025, we are renewing our commitment and our responsibility to explore complex issues and share the stories that define the Maine coast. To more fully capture the breadth, speed, and complexity of the challenges facing coastal communities, we are expanding our coverage this year through in-depth videography, social media posts that capture fast moving news, and stories shared from this paper to our blog, website, and Island Institute social media channels.
You trust us for news and information on Maine’s coast by a 5:1 margin over other news sources…
Together, these additions will ensure we provide timely, relevant, and accessible information and, importantly, reach younger generations of people who share our commitment to the Maine coast but access their news in different ways.
It is no surprise to anyone who follows journalism that a 32-year-old newspaper wouldn’t survive without adapting to a new reality. So, early in 2024, we enlisted a group of esteemed journalists, communications experts, and publishers to help us understand the new landscape for community journalism.
We also surveyed our readers and our members about what they value most about our publications. We shared more about this in our September issue. Two data points really jumped out to us:
• You trust us for news and information on Maine’s coast by a 5:1 margin over other news sources, such as broadcast media, daily newspapers, and more local sources.
• 80% of our readers are over 65 and more than half of you already access The Working Waterfront content online.
As a highly trusted source of news and analysis, we found ourselves poised between two very different ways of communicating and connecting: through the traditional printed newspaper that so many of us appreciate (me included), and in the digital world that moves so much more quickly and visually and is essential for cultivating new interest in and solutions to coastal and community challenges.
What to do? The Working Waterfront—launched well before high-speed internet was even a concept—has been distributed for free to thousands along the coast of Maine and delivered directly to mailboxes on dozens of island and coastal communities. More than 2,600 members also opt for direct mail of their papers, including many who reside outside Maine. This direct connection, literally to your doorstep, is a special quality of our newspaper.
Knowing how the landscape for news is changing, however, our question inevitably became, “Who are we missing?” and “Who needs to be in these critical conversations who isn’t?”
With this in mind, we’re excited about the steps we are taking to expand the tent of champions for Maine’s coastal communities. In the coming months, we will provide more of the news, stories, and videos you want via our E-Weekly news and our Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media channels.
New video stories and series will offer more immersive and engaging coverage of the issues you care most about: climate and sea level rise, our extraordinary environment, the marine economy, and Maine’s iconic fishing industry.
While we expand our digital coverage, we will continue to print The Working Waterfront six times a year instead of ten, with a standing commitment to unique coverage of the issues you’ve told us are most important. We’ll continue to do all of this with the signature local flavor and sense of place that our newspaper readers and members hold dear.
The challenges facing the coast of Maine are big and complex. By opening the digital door of The Working Waterfront, we are issuing an invitation. Come, join us, in whatever format is most comfortable to you. You are welcome here, your commitment to the Maine coast is needed, and we are happy to have you.
Kim Hamilton is president of Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. She may be contacted at khamilton@islandinstitute.org.
