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CITY staffers have rallied to deliver 20,000 copies of the magazine in each of the last two months. Here, Editor David Andreatta drops off the February edition outside the Gleason Works building.
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Consider this a call to action.
If you’re among the thousands of people who pick up your monthly copy of CITY at any of our hundreds of newsstands, chances are good that the person who delivered your magazine this month also had a hand in producing it.
In an effort to counter a distribution crisis, CITY staffers — from editors and writers to designers and salespeople — rallied to personally deliver roughly 20,000 copies of the February and March editions of the magazine to nearly 400 stops.
The team was focused on a single goal: getting copies into your hands by the first of the month. That might sound simple enough, but it hadn’t been happening more often than any of us would care to admit.
In the preceding months, we were reminded of that frequently by readers who inquired about the whereabouts of their magazine and by our own experiences of visiting newsstands only to find them empty or stocked late.
When CITY was a weekly newspaper, it enjoyed quality service from a loyal distributor for years. But just weeks before CITY was to return to newsstands as a monthly magazine in September 2020 after a pandemic-induced publication hiatus, that distributor folded.
We were left to scramble for a new distributor in the midst of a pandemic marked by government lockdowns and labor shortages that were climbing to epic proportions.
One option emerged in a company that specializes in delivering newspapers locally and beyond. We signed a contract with that company and breathed a sigh of relief. But our relief slowly turned to distress, and eventually torment, when it became clear that our distributor could not meet the terms of our contract.
Frustrated and fed up, we cut ties with the company in January and took matters into our own hands. Literally.
The staffers behind the bylines you know and trust to bring you timely, conversation-starting coverage of the news, arts, and culture in our community packed the trunks of their vehicles with bundles of magazines and hit the road — in a snowstorm.
I’ve always been proud of CITY, but I don’t think I was ever prouder than those days. The endeavor took two days each month and was an exercise in duty, humility, and self-reflection.
The best part was meeting the small-business owners who host CITY newsstands and seeing how thrilled so many of them and their customers were to see us — not just the magazine, but the people behind it.
“Delivering the magazines gave me a chance to interact with the people and places that have been supporting us and helping get us out to readers,” said News Editor Jeremy Moule, who has been with CITY for 15 years. “Not only did I enjoy it, but I learned a little bit about our community in the process.”
The highlight for Rebecca Rafferty, CITY’s life and culture editor, was walking into the bus terminal downtown with a bundle of magazines and being greeted by a man who blurted, “Thank God! My phone’s dead.”
Staff writer Gino Fanelli went into paperboy mode grudgingly, but returned to the office after a day on the road beaming at the hearty greetings he received.
“I got to see first-hand how much we resonate in this city, how many people were stoked to see me with a stack of magazines,” Fanelli said. “That gave me a lot of hope that we’re doing good work and making a difference.”
WANTED: UNSUNG HEROES
We will continue delivering the magazine as long as necessary. But we’re hoping to find a permanent solution for our distribution by spring.
The problem now is a nationwide shortage of delivery drivers and couriers. You might not know it if you’ve been following the “Freedom Convoys” in Canada that have crept into American cities, but truckers are in short supply.
You can help, though.
If you’re looking for part-time work that gets you out and about in our community just one or two days a month, we have a job for you.
You can inquire with CITY’s circulation manager, Kate Stathis, who was the linchpin to CITY’s “Operation Paper Route.” She can be reached by phone at (585) 784-3506 or email at [email protected].
“When delivery of goods and services run smoothly, it’s easy to take for granted what we rely upon the most,” Stathis said. “I appreciate people who reliably take pride in timely delivery, especially when a job well done often means going virtually unrecognized.”
To those of you who may join us, know that we and CITY's readers appreciate the work you do.
David Andreatta is CITY's editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
If you’re among the thousands of people who pick up your monthly copy of CITY at any of our hundreds of newsstands, chances are good that the person who delivered your magazine this month also had a hand in producing it.
In an effort to counter a distribution crisis, CITY staffers — from editors and writers to designers and salespeople — rallied to personally deliver roughly 20,000 copies of the February and March editions of the magazine to nearly 400 stops.
The team was focused on a single goal: getting copies into your hands by the first of the month. That might sound simple enough, but it hadn’t been happening more often than any of us would care to admit.
In the preceding months, we were reminded of that frequently by readers who inquired about the whereabouts of their magazine and by our own experiences of visiting newsstands only to find them empty or stocked late.
When CITY was a weekly newspaper, it enjoyed quality service from a loyal distributor for years. But just weeks before CITY was to return to newsstands as a monthly magazine in September 2020 after a pandemic-induced publication hiatus, that distributor folded.
We were left to scramble for a new distributor in the midst of a pandemic marked by government lockdowns and labor shortages that were climbing to epic proportions.
One option emerged in a company that specializes in delivering newspapers locally and beyond. We signed a contract with that company and breathed a sigh of relief. But our relief slowly turned to distress, and eventually torment, when it became clear that our distributor could not meet the terms of our contract.
Frustrated and fed up, we cut ties with the company in January and took matters into our own hands. Literally.
The staffers behind the bylines you know and trust to bring you timely, conversation-starting coverage of the news, arts, and culture in our community packed the trunks of their vehicles with bundles of magazines and hit the road — in a snowstorm.
I’ve always been proud of CITY, but I don’t think I was ever prouder than those days. The endeavor took two days each month and was an exercise in duty, humility, and self-reflection.
The best part was meeting the small-business owners who host CITY newsstands and seeing how thrilled so many of them and their customers were to see us — not just the magazine, but the people behind it.
“Delivering the magazines gave me a chance to interact with the people and places that have been supporting us and helping get us out to readers,” said News Editor Jeremy Moule, who has been with CITY for 15 years. “Not only did I enjoy it, but I learned a little bit about our community in the process.”
The highlight for Rebecca Rafferty, CITY’s life and culture editor, was walking into the bus terminal downtown with a bundle of magazines and being greeted by a man who blurted, “Thank God! My phone’s dead.”
Staff writer Gino Fanelli went into paperboy mode grudgingly, but returned to the office after a day on the road beaming at the hearty greetings he received.
“I got to see first-hand how much we resonate in this city, how many people were stoked to see me with a stack of magazines,” Fanelli said. “That gave me a lot of hope that we’re doing good work and making a difference.”
WANTED: UNSUNG HEROES
We will continue delivering the magazine as long as necessary. But we’re hoping to find a permanent solution for our distribution by spring.
The problem now is a nationwide shortage of delivery drivers and couriers. You might not know it if you’ve been following the “Freedom Convoys” in Canada that have crept into American cities, but truckers are in short supply.
You can help, though.
If you’re looking for part-time work that gets you out and about in our community just one or two days a month, we have a job for you.
You can inquire with CITY’s circulation manager, Kate Stathis, who was the linchpin to CITY’s “Operation Paper Route.” She can be reached by phone at (585) 784-3506 or email at [email protected].
“When delivery of goods and services run smoothly, it’s easy to take for granted what we rely upon the most,” Stathis said. “I appreciate people who reliably take pride in timely delivery, especially when a job well done often means going virtually unrecognized.”
To those of you who may join us, know that we and CITY's readers appreciate the work you do.
David Andreatta is CITY's editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
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