Ross Sneyd is diplomatic in explaining why he and others have launched the Peaks Island News, subtly alluding to the perils of what passes for reporting on social media platforms.
The community, he says, needs fact-based information to effectively navigate the many and fast-changing developments that impact Peaks Island, a part of Portland in Casco Bay.
“We’re trying to give a little bit of context,” he explained, which is often missing on social media, where “people talk at each other instead of to each other.”
“We aim to create a true community newspaper, delivering news about our schools, businesses, local government…”
The goal, according to the website PeaksIslandNews.org, is to provide “objective reporting, focusing on the issues that matter most to our community.”
In recent years, the community seems to have embraced Nextdoor, Snedy said, an app that serves individual neighborhoods and where chatter can turn to local political matters.
Rhonda Berg, a real estate agent and member of the Peaks Island Council, a local advisory body, and Stacey Kors, who has worked as a journalist, wondered aloud: “Wouldn’t it be great to have a newspaper again?”
The Peaks Island Times had served the community, but shut down about a dozen years ago, Sneyd said.
Scott Dolan, a former reporter for the Portland Press Herald, now an attorney, agreed to head up the board of directors of the nonprofit endeavor—which has secured 501(c)(3) status—with Berg serving as vice president.
Almost the entire team, including Sneyd, who will edit the new publication, is serving on a volunteer basis. The copy editor and page designer will be paid.
The goal is to print bi-monthly, with an initial press run of 4,000, and perhaps by 2025 be publishing monthly.
“We aim to create a true community newspaper, delivering news about our schools, businesses, local government, and organizations in every issue,” the website notes, “featuring current events, arts, history, people, and island culture, all sharing space with an advertising platform to connect businesses with locals and visitors alike.”
Sneyd, who has lived part of the year on the island for 12 years, and full time for the last three years, has an extensive journalism background, having worked for the Associated Press for 18 years, and public radio in Vermont for eight years.
The island has some news outlets, he said, including a low-power radio station, and the Peaks Island News will supplement that work.
“We’re not looking to replace any of them,” Sneyd said, and in fact, Bridget Joyce, who works with the radio station, will write a column for the Peaks Island News.
The plan also calls for the paper to be print-only, though completed pages will be available on a website. The newspaper will be available for pick up in person at multiple local drop points, on-island and near Casco Bay Lines. The paper will be mailed to seasonal residents of the island who subscribe, though that likely won’t be possible until 2025.
The paper secured $8,000 from the Peaks Island Fund, and a donation from the Zimmerman Foundation, operated by a couple who live on the island.
The paper will be printed in South Portland by the National Trust for Local News, the nonprofit that last year purchased the Portland Press Herald and other newspapers.
Sneyd said the group that worked to create the new publication studied the Harpswell Anchor, a nonprofit paper covering that community, and The Working Waterfront to arrive at organization and content elements.
The volunteer staff is soliciting stories, photos, and illustrations for the newspaper. Advertising partnerships are also being sought; email Rhonda Berg at brhonda1@gmail.com.
Contact the staff at: news@peaksislandnews.org, and Peaks Island News, P.O. Box 26, Peaks Island, ME 04108.
