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From the January 12, 2001
print edition
Profits take back seat to tradition at Transcript
By Manny Frishberg
Puget Sound Business Journal
Every other week, Donna Gordon Blankinship, the editor and business
manager at The Jewish Transcript, pits the bottom line against
the community's need-to-know.
The need-to-know usually wins.
The Transcript, a biweekly niche publication for the Seattle
Jewish community, has operated continuously for the past 76
years. It's headlines have chronicled the founding of Seattle's
first conservative synagogue, the fall of Hitler and the birth
of what would eventually become the state of Israel.
The print and online versions of the newspaper have evolved,
but they still provide readers with a mix of local community
activities and national and international news of special relevance
to the area's Jewish population; a tradition that Herman Horowitz
started when he began publishing it on March 6, 1924.
Today, the newspaper operates as a for-profit subsidiary of
the nonprofit Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. Blankinship
reports to a board of directors who are, in turn, a committee
of the board of the Jewish Federation. But the editor is quick
to mention that the Transcript does not actually turn a profit.
"The mission of the paper is outreach and building community,"
she said. "All the effort that we put into selling ads
and selling subscriptions is toward that one goal."
The Transcript, which is distributed by only by subscription,
earns most of its operating budget through advertising. Approximately
15 percent of the money comes from subscription sales, and the
parent organization provides about five percent of its funding.
Blankinship declined to give specific revenue or spending figures.
Since the newspaper's goal is "to get the message of the
community out to the people who are in the community,"
Blankinship does not mind that readership far outstrips paid
circulation figures. She said they print 4,500 copies but estimate
a readership of more than 16,000.
"One time I went to Tacoma to cover a story and I talked
to 15 people who had all read the Transcript, but none of them
had a subscription," she said. "They all got it at
the temple library. The Jewish organizations have subscriptions
to the paper, which I'm sure they leave lying around for people
to read. There is a tremendous amount of pass-along, which must
be the case for community newspapers."
With a readership that includes as many as one in three members
of the area's Jewish community, advertisers search out the paper
to reach its targeted audience. A significant portion of the
businesses and professionals that advertise are offering services
geared specifically to the Jewish community, such as Match Mavens,
a dating service for people looking for a religiously-compatible
mate, or The Tree of Life Bookstore, which specializes in Judaic
literature and gifts.
Others, like Dean Altaras, senior vice president of Morris Piha
Real Estate Services in Bellevue, advertise there "because,
being Jewish and having ties to the community, it's important
to us."
"Just like all other types of people there are many (in
the Jewish community) who own real estate, and that's what I
do," he said. He rated it as a "somewhat effective"
tool for generating business, and a good way to reach that group
of potential customers.
For the Mercer Island Travelodge Motel, it is one of the best
ways to reach their customers, said Sharon Roberson, general
manager of the motel.
With a large Jewish community on Mercer Island, "We're
the only name-brand motel, and mostly this profits the population
on the island," she said. "I think we reach out to
the community more, going through that paper."
Reaching out is what Horowitz had in mind.
For its first 18 years, Horowitz functioned as both editor and
publisher of the newspaper, keeping the community informed about
the changes taking place locally as well as in the greater world
beyond Washington. In 1942, Horowitz retired and the Transcript
moved to being owned by the community it serves.
Since becoming editor four years ago, Blankinship said she has
grown the paper to its current size of 36 pages.
"I believe that although we have a similar number of readers,
that our readers are much more engaged in the newspaper than
they were before," she said.
The former Associated Press reporter and journalism instructor
at North Seattle Community College credits the advertising department
and increased free-lance budget to bringing in more diverse
voices and expanding the scope of the local coverage. Blankinship
estimated that at least three-quarters of the average paper
is locally originated material written by herself and a single
staff reporter, Jessica Davis, and a group of regular free-lance
contributors. Recently she added a kid's page, written by children
from the local Jewish schools. This month she is introducing
a local recipe column, which she said will be written by local
Jewish chefs and the area's Jewish and kosher caterers.
She also provides a space in each issue where the area's rabbis
take turns offering their opinions on issues of interest, both
secular and religious in nature. She runs a regular section
announcing bar and bat mitzvahs, and a substantial amount of
space is devoted to arts and culture.
"We do a lot of personality profiles. We cover the arts
from a Jewish perspective. Anytime there's a play in town that
has a Jewish theme we'll do a preview about it. We write about
music, new CDs, very extensive coverage about new Jewish books,"
Blankinship said. "The other thing we try to do is to look
a little deeper at what people are thinking and how are they
feeling about being Jewish, or Israel, or giving money to charity."
While tradition plays a big part of the paper, the organization
has undergone a significant change under Blankinship's guardianship.
She has overseen the inauguration of the Transcript's presence
online. Along with the current issue's news stories, the Web
site contains a history section, with details from the Transcript's
first seven decades, community links, an online version of their
annual Guide to Jewish Washington and a page showing what time
to light Sabbath candles each Friday night.
© 2001 American City Business Journals Inc. |
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