Community Newspaper Emerged to Serve Needs of Pass Christian Citizens

Abstract

Four months after Hurricane Katrina's storm surge had receded, communication vacuum existed in the quaint, formerly 6,500 citizens-strong, Mississippi Gulf Coast community of Pass Christian.1 Ultimately, what the Readers Digest called New Town Crier, The Gazebo Gazette-a weekly publication created by volunteers in Pass Christian-would help fill the information void.2 And two-and-a-half years after its first issue, the Gazabo Gazette had become the of record for Pass Christian and a Godsend for the people live here now and also those who moved away after the storm and want to keep in touch.3 Its transformation from newsletter to standard tabloid-size newspaper occurred in less than five months. And, even in an age of media, after the nation's greatest natural disaster, in its most basic form, the newspaper, served the citizens in ways that no other medium could.Immediately after Katrina, the two principal regional outlets on the Gulf Coast, the Sun Herald newspaper and WLOX-TV-located across the street from one another in Biloxi-did remarkable job. In fact, the Sun Herald earned public service Pulitzer Prize and WLOX-TV an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, each for their Katrina coverage.4 However, as time passed, the rebuilding of the coast was far too formidable task for regional outlets to serve the day-to-day needs of individuals in small cities on the coast. On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Pascagoula and other communities received attention by the Sun Herald and WLOX-TV in proportion to their populations, while to the extreme west, Waveland and Bay St. Louis were served by the Seacoast Echo, firmly established community/weekly newspaper for southern Hancock County. The Pass-as the locals commonly refer to the city-had no equivalent publication serving its residents.So, how would information be passed along to the citizens in order for this small city to survive? The Gazebo Gazette became the answer. This study will chronicle the creation and evolution of the Gazebo Gazette during its first year and explore the newspaper's role in helping Pass Christian in recovering, rebuilding and renewal after Hurricane Katrina.Literature ReviewWhen one refers to weekly newspapers, it often brings to mind publications with very little editorial content and large number of advertisements. However, weekly newspapers are often held in high esteem for their quality editorial content, and on occasion, they have been the subject of scholarly inquiry.In Mississippi, alone, the Deer Creek Pilot, Carthaginian, Enterprise-Tocsin and Neshoba Democrat provide readers with first-rate local and examples of enterprising journalism that still goes on in the hinterlands even in the poorest state in the nation. 5 Whether it is the Pilot taking on crooked judge, the Carthaginian reporters covering disaster while also helping citizens along the way, the Enterprise-Tocsin providing balanced coverage about racial inequity issues against the wishes of powerful white leaders, or the Democrat trying to right an injustice, these are four outstanding weekly newspapers.6The weekly newspaper business-despite all of the new technologies and declining readership in daily newspapers-remains strong vibrant industry. 7 Between 1987 and 2003, 64 percent of the 305 daily newspapers that ceased to publish actually continued operation as weeklies, merged dailies or zoned editions.8 The latest statistics indicate there are 6,659 weekly newspapers in the U.S.-with about two-thirds of them paid and the rest either free or combination of free and paid.9 And if the feeling is that weekly newspapers are not keeping up with the technology of the times, the data suggest otherwise. A recent study indicated that 92.8 percent of the weeklies publish an online newspaper.10Despite the prevalence of weekly newspapers and the fact that weekly newspapers continue to be in growth cycle and are keeping up with technology challenges, media scholars have tended to ignore them. …