MEET THE PUBLISHER POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Meet the Publisher is a weekly event at cafe columbia. Every Friday Ricardo Whitaker, publisher of Howard Courier, Guilford Gazette and the upcoming HoCo Calendar, meets with Howard County citizens, businesses and government representatives to discuss news coverage plans of the umbrella company, Maryland Newspapers LLC. The event starts at 12 noon and ends at 1:30 pm. It is a casual, drop-in open forum. Visitors bring their concerns about issues in Howard County. Many have requests for special coverage of areas of concern, while others want to know how we are moving forward with news coverage.
The Howard Courier is the upcoming news website, tentatively scheduled for June 2024. The intent for the site is total coverage of Howard County with a bent towards in-depth and investigative reporting.
The Guilford Gazette, which began several years ago as a hyper-local newspaper and website, covering Guilford, Savage, Jessup, North Laurel, and Kings Contrivance, is now filling the gap between hyper-local and county-wide coverage. Presently, it is not truly hyper-local nor is it fully vested in full coverage of County news and information.
HoCo Calendar, presently a part of Guilford Gazette, is a community calendar that will eventually have its own web identity. The publisher of HoCo Calendar endeavors to have HoCo Calendar become the standard response to the question, “What’s happening in Howard County?” Not only will HoCo Calendar feature events, but there will be feature articles about many of the upcoming events – both pre-event and post-event articles.
The purpose of Meet the Publisher is to help readers understand the synergy that is required between subscriber and publisher. One cannot exist without the other. The publisher needs the support of subscribers and website visitors, while the subscriber has a definite need for accurate and detailed news and information. Really, this synergy is a partnership. But in this partnership, the publisher serves the subscriber. We want to know what you expect of us. The subscriber is indeed a driving force. At the same time, we need your eyes on our websites and we need financial support to pay top-notch writers, reporters, researcher, graphic designers, website personnel, and more. You probably get the point.
Residents had a print newspaper in the County for many years — it was free. Many have learned that a free newspaper cannot deliver the in-depth, detailed coverage required for a growing, sophisticated county. Maryland Newspapers LLC is here to step in the gap. We’re homegrown and the owner lives in Howard County.
Let’s meet on Wednesday to learn more about each other. cafe columbia is located at 5550 Sterrett Place, Columbia, Maryland
The relationship between Maryland Newspapers LLC and cafe columbia exemplifies the vision of James Rouse, founder of Columbia. The partnership is one of mutual assistance, but also of mutual respect. While we’re having fun helping each other grow, the owners of both entities are congenial and find time for a bit of fellowship. That same spirit is evident to customers who dine at cafe columbia. The experience is fun and friendly, but not at the sacrifice of good food and delicious coffee.