PNA Foundation, July 31

Foundation Update: Recapping Williamsport town hall meeting

By Lauren Lee, Director
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Foundation
(717) 703-3002

Last week, I wrote about the Foundation’s Town Hall Meeting series. To date, the events have been very successful and last night’s meeting in Williamsport followed suit. Approximately 160 people packed into the Community Theatre in Williamsport to hear about the recent boom in natural gas exploration happening all over the region. Over the course of two hours, audience members gained more insight into how natural gas mining might impact their region both economically and environmentally. The event was lively thanks to a steady stream of questioning and well thought out answers from the six panelists.

From my perspective, last night’s town hall meeting was a perfect example of how newspapers are at the center of community dialogue. The Williamsport Sun-Gazette has taken the lead on educating citizens on the natural gas industry and what it means to the region in terms of future growth, economic opportunity and environmental impact. Interestingly enough, the audience was diverse and included young landowners, veteran farmers, oil industry executives, environmental advocates, township supervisors and a handful of state representatives. By sponsoring the Town Hall Meeting, the Williamsport Sun-Gazette and The Express, Lock Haven, not only demonstrated their commitment to the community, but also showcased the role of the newspaper as provider of critical information.

Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN), also a co-sponsor, broadcasted the event live. Prior to introducing the panelists, Brian Lockman, PCN president and moderator for the event, introduced Dave Thompson from the Sun-Gazette. Dave is the Sun-Gazette’s resident expert on natural gas mining and has written dozens of articles on the subject in the past two years. As Dave welcomed guests and plugged the informational “natural gas exploration” link on the paper’s Web site to the audience and viewers across the state, I couldn’t help but think that this is what ALL newspapers should be doing to promote themselves.

Beyond raising the profile of the newspaper as a credible leader in community issues, there are other benefits to hosting a town meeting. As the newspaper takes a leadership role in educating the public on important topics, there may be an opportunity to reach out to new and different advertisers. In the case of the Williamsport meeting, much of the conversation revolved around landowners’ rights and the legal ramifications of signing a contract with leasing agents. By connecting the dots between the link on the Sun-Gazette’s Web site and the concerns of local citizens, you can see the potential for online legal advertising.

I hate to beat a dead horse by once again, writing about the town hall meeting series, but I believe it is important to show how they bring value to a newspaper – and by association, the entire industry. Oh, there’s one more interesting tidbit: PCN is open to streaming the event live on the sponsoring newspapers’ Web sites – enhancing their online presence. Are you looking to get more involved in your community? If so, please contact me at (717) 703-3002 or laurenl@pa-news.org about co-sponsoring an upcoming town hall meeting.

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