Each meeting of the Journal Star Reader Advisory Board starts with members sharing stories or announcing upcoming events. Each item we discuss is a potential story for us.
I also share a packet of articles the Journal Star had published in the previous month that were generated from our group discussions. I was quickly reminding during our meeting on May 29 at Peoria Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity Inc. that two stories we published were missing from the packet. “You are shortchanging yourself,” said Roberta English Simpson, development director of Neighborhood House.
Good catch, Roberta.
In recent meetings, Journal Star staff members, including Managing Editor Sally McKee and columnist Phil Luciano, have provided insight, hand-outs and advice on how to pitch story ideas. The key is to have a story to tell about how the news affects people.
Committee members, many of whom work for community and civic organizations on Peoria’s South Side, have done a good job of suggesting stories.
Upcoming events include:
Dream Center Peoria’s Run for Charity on June 27.
Neighborhood cleanup projects organized by LISC and Dream Center in July.
And summer camps operated by South Side Mission, Neighborhood House and Dream Center, serving more than a combined 600 children, starting on Monday.
Our next Readership Advisory Board meeting is at noon on Tuesday, June 23, at Dream Center Peoria, 714 Hamilton Blvd.
If you are interested in serving on the board, or attending a meeting, please let me know. My email is danderson@pjstar.com, phone is 686-3159 and twitter is @dennisedit