Save WestView News - The Voice of the West Village
Donation protected
A message from George Capsis and the staff and contributors of WestView News:
Dear readers, neighbors, friends, and supporters,
We asked you for help, and you gave it. We have reached our fundraising goal of $20,000. You saved WestView News, and this campaign is now over.
Thank you so much for your generous donations! This makes a big difference, and we appreciate your support. Thank you for being part of the WestView News community.
You can continue to support WestView News by subscribing to the paper and by donating at http://westviewnews.org/
See you in the funny pages!
Warmly,
Karen
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Original appeal:
We are asked for your help because our beloved local newspaper is in danger of folding forever. With ad revenues sinking as our local businesses struggle to survive in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, WestView News can no longer make payroll and pay printing costs. We have distributed the paper for free to 12,000 West Village homes, year after year, and to another 500 paid subscribers. Without your help, we can’t do it anymore.
Publisher George Capsis recalls: When I started the paper 17 years ago, I found myself giving it a subheading, “The Voice of the West Village.” I wanted the readers to talk back—to ask the newspaper to use “the power of the press” to get things done. This paper has made incalculable contributions to the West Village community during the past 17 years, from holding free concerts for seniors to successfully campaigning for a Village Heart Lab at Lenox Hill Hospital—a vital local resource to save a heart attack victim in the 15-minute window from attack to medical treatment. We want to keep advocating for services that Villagers need.
But the news for newspapers is not good:
The Daily News recently closed their one of their offices. Hinting at the cost, the New York Times recently announced it will no longer print their TV guide. Shortly after the Times finished their gleaming new headquarters, they found the mortgage onerous and sold the building and rented back their offices.
A major New York real estate firm contracted to buy the expensive back page of WestView but the pandemic prompted a quick cancellation. Restaurant ad sales have fallen as well; you don't advertise a restaurant that can't be entered. The traditional way of funding a newspaper via advertising is dead and it is very easy to predict that the bankruptcy of newspapers will continue until they will only be found in museums...
We think that some of us still like the feel of a real newspaper, and would like to try to continue WestView for a few more years and maybe even make it a little bit better.
Today, we are asking for help from our neighbors and community. If you love the paper, we ask you to help save WestView News. We need community support to help us pay a backlog of bills and keep the paper printing for the remainder of the pandemic and the following year as our community rebuilds.
Your contribution will help pay our staff and our printer, but more importantly, you will help us bring the local news to the people of the West Village. Our stories, told by the people who live here. Which bird Keith Michael and his dog Millie spotted in the Village this month… How you met your husband… What the Village was like 40 years ago… The most exciting thing that ever happened in your life… This is your paper. Without WestView News, there will be no one left to tell these stories. Please help if you can.
Please support our crowdfunding campaign. Please give what you can afford, what you think the paper deserves. Please give today, and please ask your friends and neighbors to give as well. Thank you. We greatly appreciate your support.
George Capsis, Publisher
And the WestView News staff and contributors
The organizer, Karen Rempel, is an editor and contributor at WestView News and a friend of George Capsis.
George tells the story of winning the Cath Lab:
Dear readers, neighbors, friends, and supporters,
We asked you for help, and you gave it. We have reached our fundraising goal of $20,000. You saved WestView News, and this campaign is now over.
Thank you so much for your generous donations! This makes a big difference, and we appreciate your support. Thank you for being part of the WestView News community.
You can continue to support WestView News by subscribing to the paper and by donating at http://westviewnews.org/
See you in the funny pages!
Warmly,
Karen
---
Original appeal:
We are asked for your help because our beloved local newspaper is in danger of folding forever. With ad revenues sinking as our local businesses struggle to survive in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, WestView News can no longer make payroll and pay printing costs. We have distributed the paper for free to 12,000 West Village homes, year after year, and to another 500 paid subscribers. Without your help, we can’t do it anymore.
Publisher George Capsis recalls: When I started the paper 17 years ago, I found myself giving it a subheading, “The Voice of the West Village.” I wanted the readers to talk back—to ask the newspaper to use “the power of the press” to get things done. This paper has made incalculable contributions to the West Village community during the past 17 years, from holding free concerts for seniors to successfully campaigning for a Village Heart Lab at Lenox Hill Hospital—a vital local resource to save a heart attack victim in the 15-minute window from attack to medical treatment. We want to keep advocating for services that Villagers need.
But the news for newspapers is not good:
The Daily News recently closed their one of their offices. Hinting at the cost, the New York Times recently announced it will no longer print their TV guide. Shortly after the Times finished their gleaming new headquarters, they found the mortgage onerous and sold the building and rented back their offices.
A major New York real estate firm contracted to buy the expensive back page of WestView but the pandemic prompted a quick cancellation. Restaurant ad sales have fallen as well; you don't advertise a restaurant that can't be entered. The traditional way of funding a newspaper via advertising is dead and it is very easy to predict that the bankruptcy of newspapers will continue until they will only be found in museums...
We think that some of us still like the feel of a real newspaper, and would like to try to continue WestView for a few more years and maybe even make it a little bit better.
Today, we are asking for help from our neighbors and community. If you love the paper, we ask you to help save WestView News. We need community support to help us pay a backlog of bills and keep the paper printing for the remainder of the pandemic and the following year as our community rebuilds.
Your contribution will help pay our staff and our printer, but more importantly, you will help us bring the local news to the people of the West Village. Our stories, told by the people who live here. Which bird Keith Michael and his dog Millie spotted in the Village this month… How you met your husband… What the Village was like 40 years ago… The most exciting thing that ever happened in your life… This is your paper. Without WestView News, there will be no one left to tell these stories. Please help if you can.
Please support our crowdfunding campaign. Please give what you can afford, what you think the paper deserves. Please give today, and please ask your friends and neighbors to give as well. Thank you. We greatly appreciate your support.
George Capsis, Publisher
And the WestView News staff and contributors
The organizer, Karen Rempel, is an editor and contributor at WestView News and a friend of George Capsis.
George tells the story of winning the Cath Lab:
Organizer and beneficiary
Karen Rempel
Organizer
New York, NY
George Capsis
Beneficiary