A New York Times editor and a former Foster’s Daily Democrat editor will be guest speakers at the launch of South Berwick’s new online news source, the South Berwick Reporter. The kickoff will be 7:30 pm Friday, Dec. 1, at Spring Hill in South Berwick.
Alex Kingsbury, an editor at the New York Times and 1999 graduate of Marshwood High School, and Mary Pat Rowland, former managing editor of Fosters, will speak on the role local news coverage plays in our community and in a democracy.
The event is being organized by the volunteer staff of the South Berwick Reporter, who will introduce themselves at the party. Rowland will attend in person and Kingsbury will appear live, but virtually.
Speakers will begin at 8 pm. Light snacks will be provided along with a cash bar.
The launch party is being organized in conjunction with the Marshwood Education Foundation’s inaugural Merry Tree Fest, a fundraiser running 4 to 8 pm Wednesday, Nov. 29, to Saturday, Dec. 2.
Dozens of trees on display outside at Spring Hill during that time will be raffled off on Dec. 2. All funds will go to the MEF, the non profit that supports local public schools with grants for educational opportunities that would not otherwise be available. Businesses, families, and individuals have been invited to donate uniquely decorated, themed trees to support the fundraiser.
The launch party marks the kickoff of the South Berwick Reporter website as well as its effort to raise funds to help pay for the web domain, insurance and other costs associated with the project. Although the Reporter will be available online for free, businesses and individuals will be invited to become sponsors, earning a spot on the home page, or to be donors, keeping the enterprise afloat.
The South Berwick Reporter was started in March 2023 by a group of local citizens. More than 100 articles on town and school business have been posted on its Facebook page since then. Design of the website was funded by a donation from the South Berwick-Eliot Rotary Club.
According to its website, The South Berwick Reporter was formed to offer original content relating to news and current events concerning the town of South Berwick. Its mission is “to provide accurate and relevant news and information about South Berwick in an effort to foster an engaged and informed citizenry,” the website says.
The volunteer staff includes four former Foster’s employees – Zelda Kenney, Mark Pechenik, Nora Irvine and Amy Miller – as well as former South Berwick librarian Karen Eger, musician and songwriter Susie Burke, writer Mary Elizabeth Everett and public radio journalist John Rudolph. Trish English is the site’s tech coordinator. All of the staff members live in South Berwick.
The South Berwick Reporter is the latest addition to the family of 10 non-profit programs under the fiscal umbrella of SoBo Central. Other programs are the Food Pantry; Keep South Berwick Warm; Hot Summer Nights concert series; Common Ground Tuskegee-South Berwick Sister City project; Home for the Holidays; SmartGrowth South Berwick; South Berwick Cares; and Powerhouse Hill Ski Club. SoBo Central volunteers also host the annual LanternFest.
