When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t thinking about the fact that it was 25 years ago today that we launched St. Thomas Source, the first of three online news publications that make up the V.I. Source.
Twenty-five years, one quarter of a century, along with being one-third of my life, is a large chunk of history. It has become apparent to me recently how crucial knowing and telling our history is.
When I realized what today was, while toying with the idea of writing something, I stumbled across the following speech that I wrote and delivered throughout a daylong seminar celebrating our five-year anniversary in 2004. The Internet was still a fledgling factor not only in the Virgin Islands but across the globe, though that may be hard for some of the youngsters who may be reading this to believe.
Because it was still such an unknown entity, with the support of donors, investors and many entities willing to do trades, we decided that the best thing we could offer the community was experts on the characteristics and qualities, and possibilities of the Internet in all of its aspects.
We invited speakers and sent out invitations and like so many things in the past I have no idea how we pulled it off. But 250 people showed up at Frenchman’s Reef to learn and to celebrate with us. I offer this as my contribution to our shared history today.
Good morning.
I am completely overwhelmed and delighted that all of you have taken time from your very busy lives to come here today and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I am humbled by and grateful for the interest you have shown in what we bring to you today. And I think you will be richly rewarded with interesting and practical information offered by our presenters.
And thank you for being here to celebrate our fifth anniversary with us and to get a picture of the e-volution — where it’s been and where it’s going — of that wonderful and powerful tool known as the Internet.
Five and a half years ago I was approached with the seed of an idea about how I could start a newspaper — with little or no money.
Which, ironically, was exactly the amount that I had to work with — along with an obsolete computer and a lifelong dream to be a reporter.
What was even better from my perspective was this newspaper would be online — meaning people all over the world would be able to read it.
This was important to me personally for a couple of big reasons:
One — when Hurricane Hugo hit, I was on the U.S. mainland while my best friend was living on St. Croix. After a day or so of national news coverage, the Virgin Islands disappeared from the news radar as the storm approached the mainland and then a few days later a major earthquake rocked the San Francisco Bay area.
With all of the communications down, I waited anxiously for weeks while news of my islands trickled in. It was agonizing.
With an Internet newspaper it occurred to me this would never have to happen again — no one would have to wait somewhere out there worried about their loved ones, their property, their islands while the fickle finger of the mainstream media decided for them what was important news.
It was clear to me that a grassroots, community Internet newspaper could decide for itself what was important.
During wrong-way Lenny in 1999 we were able to prove that theory by providing around-the-clock coverage of the late-season, unique storm … and our readership went up more than 20 percent the month following the storm — primarily because people who were off-island when the storm hit found the Source — many for the first time.
The second reason the idea of an Internet newspaper appealed to me was that ever-so-important marketing term — PERCEPTION.
In the dark ages, before the World Wide Web, the only news from the V.I. that hit the mainstream media was BAD – looting, murder and mayhem. From the perception of someone who had never been here the only thing that ever happened here was our own little island brand of terrorism.
But that is far from the truth, as we all know. Having called the Virgin Islands my home for most of my adult life I knew the unique quality of these islands. I was familiar with the far greater aspects — a thriving business community with ever-increasing possibilities, a volunteer force like no other I have seen, theater, music, cultural events, sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking and the loveliest people in the world.
Where else in the world — I have often asked — can you go scuba diving in the morning and see violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman perform the same evening? I did that a few years ago.
I felt the world should identify the Virgin Islands with beauty and possibility. A tropical paradise under the U.S. flag.
Not that we don’t report our share of corruption and crime, but that is far from the only thing going on in these beautiful islands — and I am proud to say we have spent the last five years letting people know that.
And what’s interesting is that what I have found from the couple hundred thousand emails I have received is — people from all over the world LOVE THE VIRGIN ISLANDS — even those who appear to be its greatest critics. In fact, they love these islands SO much they want to see their great potential realized.
I like to believe the Source has been a catalyst for improved communications, resulting in economic growth. We have been told more than once that the Source has been used as a means for investors to get a realistic view of the community. I hope and trust it has helped build confidence in those investors by showcasing ALL of the aspects of this community.
The third reason we have pushed on against some formidable odds — and maybe the one I feel most passionate about — is the right of the people to have more than one source for news and information.
In a country where one organization often controls most of the media in a given community, and with an FCC that seems to want to allow even more merging and control by these huge media giants, the Internet has provided the vehicle for an alternative voice — many alternative voices in fact.
Prior to the advent of easy access to the World Wide Web it cost millions of dollars to consider starting a paper newspaper. And big bucks often come encumbered with other special interests.
The evolution of the Internet has made room for everyone to have a voice — without the burden of amassing millions to do it.
We have happily been able to take advantage of that. Not that it doesn’t cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to run an Internet newspaper — but it’s just that — not millions.
And so we are here today to talk about where the Internet has come in the past five years — and to hear from you where you’d like to see it go and how we can help. We are on the verge of changes that will bring about enormous possibilities. We will tell you a little bit about that later, but as we go forward what’s most important is to open a dialogue so that we can build this new engine with you — the community — in mind.
Before we talk about the future, I want to give you a quick view of the evolution of the Source in the last five years:
– In January of 1999 — the month we launch St. Thomas Source — we could boast about 1,000 page requests.
– In March 2003 we received a record 1.5-million page requests from about 50,000 unique visitors.
– Two years after our launch we received the blessing of three government agencies to be used for publication of various legal notices and in February 2002, the attorney general wrote an opinion which deemed us a newspaper of general circulation.
– In September 2002, The Source was a finalist in the category of general excellence in the 2002 On Line Journalism Awards, judged by the Columbia School of Journalism — the same people who judge the Pulitzer Prize.
– In October 2003, Territorial Court Judge Rhys Hodge in a memorandum opinion wrote: “The continuous availability of the Source militates in favor of accepting its use for substitute service of process. Once a notice is posted in the Source, it appears continuously. A notice posted for the requisite four-week period thus appears every day for four weeks. This accessibility stands in stark contrast,” Hodge wrote, “to hard copy newspapers where the notice only appears one day a week for four weeks. Furthermore the fact that the Source is free also increases the chances a defendant will be reached.”
There is more to the opinion and it can be found in the legal section of any of the Source publications.
– And in November 2003, the St. Croix Environmental Association presented the Source with its Environmental Awareness in Media Award — a tremendous honor.
And so it is with a grateful heart for all that we have achieved thanks to the love and support streaming from this community that we have pulled together a diverse group of highly qualified individuals to share with you their great knowledge and experience relative to the problems, advantages and possibilities of the Internet and Internet News.
We had a few people call to ask if we were going to teach people how to get on to the Internet and I had to say “no” that was not our intention.
What we are here to do is two-fold — offer you some very practical tips for using the Internet to propel your business, organization or agency into the next realm of communication — both from a PR standpoint and a technical standpoint — and to get your creative juices flowing, to get your mind in sync with the limitless possibilities to improve communications and life in our community through the skillful use of this powerful tool.
I hope each of you will walk away today stimulated and a bit more understanding of the limitless possibilities offered by this new and exciting technology.
Before we start the program and I introduce our first speaker, there are a few people I want to thank — and one I’d like to introduce.
Along the way over the last five years one person has constantly been there for me — day and night — my husband, Wally Bostwick. He has suffered all of the growing pains along with me — and completely without complaint.
From the beginning there have also been others:
Penny Feuerzeig, without whom the seed of this idea would never have materialized. Penny, who has served on our advisory board from the beginning, has for five years given her time and considerable expertise to guide me and the publication to being an award-winning venture in journalism — all on a volunteer basis.
Molly Morris, who early on — knowing she had a background of some sort in journalism — I asked to do a few little fluff feature stories to augment the re-writing of press releases … Molly Morris, who has become the foremost territorial expert on government issues and who has worked tirelessly — often with little reward — always without complaint — to make the Source what it is today.
Along the way reporters and editors have come and gone. Each of those people who left the community made their own unique and valuable contribution. I have learned much from them and thank them. I still hear from many of them, many who wish they were still here in fact — some who don’t.
Those who have stayed have also contributed far more than I can ever tell you. You have seen their by-lines — you know them, many have served this community before in the news business and in a myriad of other ways for many years: Judi Shimel, Lynda Lohr, Bernetia Akin, Michelle Charles, Jean Greaux, Shirley Lincoln, Clarence Cuthbertson and, of course, our first presenter this morning, Jean Etsinger.
If I have forgotten someone — it doesn’t mean you are not valued — it means my mind is going.
I must also thank the other members of my advisory board: Frank Jordan, Irene Silverman, Jose Penn, Henry Wheatley and Frank Barnako and Melvin Claxton who are here.
And the backbone of this venture — the readers — thank you, everyone.
There are some very special advertisers who need to be thanked — all of them, in fact, but especially those who went out on a limb early, before there was any proof that this would work. They put their money down and supported this venture and they have stayed on to receive the rewards of this new medium. I am not going to list them for fear of missing someone, but I ask you to please look at them as you read and move through our sites. They are the real heroes.
There are a lot of people behind the scenes — who wish to and shall remain nameless — who have contributed in very important ways, they know who they are and what they have done — and I thank them.
I also thank the God of my understanding for the grace I personally have received to keep this going against many odds.
It is my belief that I have been freely given many rewards in this life and the last five years have been full of them. And I have been taught it is our responsibility to return those rewards. Today is a small offering from a grateful heart.
And now for the person I want to introduce to you — someone who I am also very grateful for.
Since the day I started the Source the one thing I was lacking was another marketing person. I tried a few people, but as someone once pointed out to me, it’s hard to “out-source” your income.
So, I trudged along doing the best I could — until one day the right person showed up.
It is that person — the right person — the person without whom today’s event would have never been pulled off — a person I have known for 31 years — that I wish to introduce to you today.
Please meet and welcome home to the Virgin Islands, Aaron Reiff, our new marketing director, and my son.
And now for our first presenter.
I can’t tell you how long I have known Jean Etsinger … maybe for the whole 18 years that she lived here, but what I can tell you is that Jean was always there when something needed doing in this community.
I probably first met Jean when she was the president of the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council.
She was also a volunteer for many years with the Family Resource Center, producing a fundraiser — Just Dessert — for the organization every year.
Professionally in the territory Jean served as editor of the weekly V.I. Business Journal for three and a half years, founding editor of the Vacation St.
Thomas-St. John visitor guide for two, editor of the V.I. Council on the Arts quarterly for five, and Scene & Herd arts and entertainment columnist for 13.
When the Source was in its fledgling days, Jean was the full-time journalism program faculty-of-one at the University of the Virgin Islands.
I am not sure exactly when or how she became such an integral part of the Source. It was another of her volunteer roles. She just showed up one day and quietly began to help. She has been doing it ever since — though I am happy to say no longer on a volunteer basis.
What the Source is today is a measure of Jean’s exacting standards, and meticulous editing skills along with her creativity.
I am proud to have someone of Jean’s skill, and commitment as my friend and colleague.
I thank her for coming here today to offer her considerable knowledge.
Steve Parrish
I met our next presenter in person for the first time this morning. Someone had told me he was an expert on the nuts and bolts of the Internet. I called him up and asked him if he would be willing to share that knowledge today — and he didn’t hesitate — and I thank him for that.
Steve Parrish started his career in communications more than 25 years ago and was among the elite ranks of computer system and optical network visionaries who introduced this technology to the world. He has worked for giants in the industry, such as Ameritech, as well as smaller dot-com startups like WorldPort in the Netherlands. Currently, Steve is the vice president of Operations for ATN.
Frank Barnako
One day about three years ago I answered the phone and heard this golden voice say, “Hello, this is Frank Barnako, I’m trying to reach Shaun Pennington.” Many people think I am a man, so assume the woman answering the phone is the receptionist. I am not saying that’s the case with Frank.
Anyway, he said he was interested in meeting me. I was terribly flattered. We made a date and I went to St. John — where Frank owns a home and according to him doesn’t get to spend enough time — and enjoyed a stimulating three or so hours with Frank and his lovely wife, Donna.
We became fast friends.
After offering me valuable business advice along with a certain amount of cheerleading, I timidly asked Frank if he would consider being one of my advisors.
Who better than the man who penned the first column on the business of the Internet — and he has always reminded me this IS a business.
He agreed with little hesitation and I have been the recipient since then of his vast knowledge and acumen, along with his sincere support and wish to see us succeed.
He has been there to push me out of the dream-come-true mode into the reality of the business mode.
I don’t think he knows how grateful I am to him for that. Or how grateful my husband is to him for that.
Frank is the co-founder of three internet ventures, including CBS MarketWatch.com where he manages the company’s Washington division and launched the company’s radio network four years ago. The Network provides newscasts twice an hour, seven days a week to 240 stations, making it the largest business radio network in the U.S. He is also the editor of Internet Daily, which he has written since 1996. A radio version of Internet Daily is also distributed by CBS Radio Network.
When I asked Frank if he would take time away from his work to come here and share his knowledge with us, he readily agreed. I’d like to think it was because of us, and not because he is one of those people I talked about who is in love with the Virgin Islands.
Either way, I am honored to have Frank with us today and ask you to help me welcome him here to his home away from home.
Evan Edwards
Evan Edwards and I have been virtually joined at the brain over and over again during the last five years. We met physically for the first time this morning. Evan, who has provided the genius underneath the template that you all know as the Source, has been Systems Director at OnePaper since the company was founded in 1998, and is the principal author of all OnePaper Content Management Systems. A graduate of Duke University, he has spent his career developing and administering High Access/High Availability Internet-based Systems and has served as senior system administrator for Singer Asset Finance. Mr. Edwards has also managed the business services departments for two internet service providers: Florida Internet, and the California-based CWNet.
But there a lot more to Evan’s story where the Source is concerned. At every twist and turn, he has been there struggling right alongside me from thousands of miles away to make sure we bring to you the most reliable, and useable Internet newspaper available.
When I started this, I had no idea what was involved. Evan has worked so tirelessly and so quietly — I still don’t know what’s involved. But he is here to share a little bit about what the possibilities are with all of us.
Melvin Claxton
Melvin may not remember this, but after reading his 1996 Education series — an issue very close to my heart — I got up the nerve to call him and tell him what a fabulous job he had done … he was a sort of God to me.
I called him and much to my surprise he answered the phone. I muttered on about what a great thing he had done and how important it was.
He was kind and cordial and humble — not the newspaper rockstar prima donna that he certainly has the right to be.
But that is who Melvin is I have since found, kind and humble, along with being a courageous, intelligent and brilliant journalist.
When I have a question about ethics in journalism, a question about the right thing to do, it is often Melvin that I call. I trust him completely — as I trust all of my advisors.
Melvin has been the senior investigative reporter with The Detroit News since November 1998, and has worked as an investigative reporter for The Chicago Tribune.
Claxton has covered everything from drug smuggling in the Caribbean to broken fire equipment in Detroit. His series on the failures of the criminal justice system in the U.S. Virgin Islands won him and the V.I. Daily News the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 1995.
Claxton was also the lead reporter on a Detroit News series covering the failure of Detroit police to apprehend the city’s more than 26,000 criminal fugitives that was a finalist for a Pulitzer in 2003.
It is fitting that Melvin should be here today, after the events in Antigua this week — events that Melvin surely played a part in bringing about with his fearless stories of corruption in the ranks of the powerful Bird family who dominated politics in that nation — Melvin’s home country — for more than 50 years.
Despite his heavy workload and commitment to numerous projects, when I asked him to come down here to celebrate our anniversary and talk about the role of a community newspaper he said, “that would be fun.”
So, please help me welcome and Melvin Claxton back here, back to this island that is so proud of him, back to a community that surely thinks of him as its native son.
And here is what he said that day that was particularly prescient considering the state of journalism today: PULITZER PRIZE WINNER TAKES NEWS OWNER TO TASK
