2020: Reaching New Heights In Covering Our Community

Dear neighbors, 

The start of one year means the end of another. This is just the chronological circumstances we find ourselves in. 

The cycle into the year gives us a chance to look back and most importantly focus attention on the future. The start of 2020 brings new beginnings for all of us, both personally and professionally. 

Looking back, 2019 was a good year for LevittownNow.com. We grew our membership program with very little promotion, forged new partnerships with statewide news organizations like PA Post and The Center Square, met with more of our readers and members, broke a lot of big stories, added new ways to partner with local businesses and organizations, and saw our website traffic jump nearly 30 percent, a number much higher than we anticipated.

We ended the year with the knowledge that our organization reached 81 percent of the 151,000 people who live in our area at some point last year. Just a few years ago, I had only hoped our reach would be so wide. 

For 2020, there are lots of exciting changes and additions in the works. With changes in the local media scene over the past few years, LevittownNow.com has the potential to redefine the local media landscape and take a similar role to the one traditional media companies played in our towns decades ago. I know that this organization is capable of doing more than we did in the past, but we need to grow our ambition to reach new heights. Honestly, the status quo is easy, but it takes a shift in mindset and setting big goals to tackle tough challenges. 

Off the bat, here’s some changes and additions we’re rolling out: 

• High school sports are coming this summer and fall. We’re starting with the high school football season by covering Bristol Borough, Conwell-Egan Catholic, Neshaminy, Pennsbury, and Truman high schools. From there, we hope there is enough support to cover more high school sports going past football season. 
• After a very successful test run in fall, we’re making our Digs real estate section a permanent addition. We’re planning to expand marketing options for realtors and landlords. 
• We are adding obituaries that are priced fairly and allow readers to share their loved one’s story, photo, and details on services. 
• Last year we added reporter Elizabeth Fisher, who previously chronicled our community for the Bucks County Courier Times and Bristol Pilot; Maxwell Reil, a former freelancer reporter who returned after several years writing for the Press of Atlantic City; and Elisa Baxt, who has captured the story of our towns through who photography, to our team. To start 2019, we are adding a business reporter and journalist John Fey will be assisting with our municipal government coverage. We also will be adding some additional freelance reporting positions. 
• Our popular “People of Levittown” community profile series that was previously handled by Erich Martin is returning. Starting in the next few weeks, WBCB “Speak Your Peace” host and former Bucks County Courier Times reporter Pat Wandling will be penning the feature that highlights interesting people who are from, work in, or have a wealth of knowledge about the area. 
• Another exciting change will be updating our Community Calendar by migrating to a new vendor before the end of the first quarter. 
• As the 2020 election comes into focus rather quickly, we will be adding more localized coverage of the races. We also will be working with fellow local news organizations in the First Congressional District to better cover the issues that matter to local residents. 
• While we’ve done a handful of Special Sections in the past, we are doubling down and adding multiple Special Sections that will be handled by a new member to our sales team.

To be honest, that’s a lot, I know. But in reality, it’s only a small – but I think very important – view of our changes and additions in 2020. We’re also working on regional reporting projects, growing our In The Know Club, funding important investigative journalism, and finding new stories to tell.

While strong readership is wonderful, we also know that local news organizations like ours need to be sustainable, profitable, and vibrant. Your support is needed – whether through readership, sending news tips, asking us questions, signing up for a membership, or advertising. 

In the final weeks of 2019, I attended the Local Independent Online News Publishers conference in Nashville and spent a few full days with other journalist from the U.S. and Canada at Google’s office in Chicago to learn and talk about the challenges facing local news’ future. I was beyond impressed with the people I met and worked with to prepare for this new decade. My goal is to bring back the best practices and skills I’ve picked up to Lower Bucks County. 

Our industry is being challenged and seeing tectonic shifts across all parts. In just 10 years, the entire news business has been disrupted and local publishers have led the change to adapt to the future. We’ve seen massive chains gobble up local newspapers, gutting the staff – people who live and care about our community – and cut local coverage. Readership trends and big tech dominating the advertising market have also hurt the industry while facts and truth have been beaten down in an ever-divided political landscape. 

Despite the challenges, I believe small, local news organizations with committed ownership will help fix the industry and also keep neighbors connected. We’re your neighbors and you’re our neighbors. Let’s support one another, be honest with one another, and seek the truth. 

Wishing you the best in 2020! 

Tom Sofield, Publisher – LevittownNow.com