The News Review has multiple ways of getting to its readers. Many read it electronically, though each week we send a bunch of paper copies out by U.S. Postal Service to folks who still have a hankering for their News Review, sometimes after decades living elsewhere. A significant number of papers get to readers via boxes and racks around town – for example, there is a box at the Greenbelt Metro Station, a rack in the Franklin Park laundry and boxes at bus stops like the ones outside Goddard Space Flight Center. In all we have 10 boxes and a similar number of indoor racks.
Distributing Papers
A curious reader may ask how all these newspapers get to their destination. And the answer, like most News Review answers, is, it depends. As in yesteryear, a fleet of carriers of all ages, though mostly school-aged youth, distribute them house to house around most condominium developments and the center of Greenbelt. There are 25 carriers and about 30 routes (some carriers do more than one). The carriers are paid for each route and paid extra if the newspapers are 20 or more pages because the papers are heavier and they may need to make two forays.
The newspapers get out to the boxes and carriers via our two contractors, Alan Burt takes care of the carriers and drops in the center of the city, and Amina Khalifa and her grandson Alexander handle most of the boxes and racks in East and West Greenbelt. Both distributors have been with us now for a few years and are highly dependable, conscientious and a joy to work with.
Circulation Manager
This is all coordinated by the circulation manager, who lines up substitute carriers when needed, determines how many newspapers should go to each location and handles any concerns readers have about deliveries. At the moment, the work is being done by a News Review member who already has a job and a new long-term person is needed – there’s an ad on page 5. Most weeks are unremarkable, with an occasional alarm and excursion and no requirement to shift papers around – it can all be done electronically, from home. As with all News Review member roles, a small dividend accrues to the member for their pains.
Delivery Requests
Unlike a paid-for newspaper like the Washington Post, the News Review distributes to every address. Occasionally, a homeowner does not wish to receive the paper, is away for a while and asks for delivery to be discontinued or has a special requirement for where it is to be put. This is a challenge for the carriers because they don’t operate from a list – they just walk from one house to the next and are not checking addresses – whereas the Post carrier works down a list which has every address on it and stopping the paper means one address just isn’t there to serve. So, though the News Review does its best to oblige on resident requests, there’s no guarantee that such requests can be reliably fulfilled.