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March 29, 2002
Bulletin needs greater support
Newspaper requires your help in order to do more for the community.
KYLE BERGER AND CYNTHIA RAMSAY
It has been almost three years since we took over the reins of
British Columbia’s only Jewish community newspaper, the Jewish
Western Bulletin. As we look back on where we’ve come from
and what we have accomplished in that time, we realize that there
is a significant question that remains to be answered for the community:
Who and what is the Jewish Bulletin?
The Bulletin is an independently run, privately owned business.
We do not fall under the umbrella of the Jewish Federation of Greater
Vancouver, nor do we receive funding from Federation or any other
community organization except by means of advertising revenues.
We also rely heavily on our subscribers who, together with our advertisers,
enable us to produce the publication weekly.
You may notice that the size of the paper varies, usually from 16
to 24 pages. Our three holiday issues – Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah
and Pesach – are more than double that size. This is because
the size of the paper is directly related to the amount of business
or community support we receive in the form of advertising; the
more support, the larger the newspaper.
When we chose to take over the paper from Sam and Mona Kaplan, who
had owned it themselves for more than 30 years, it wasn’t only
a business decision. While we hoped to earn our keep as owners,
our dream had more to do with the success of a community endeavor
in which we believed.
The Bulletin is not a faceless entity. It comprises a “family”
of staff committed to giving the community a voice. Between the
10 of us who work at the Bulletin, we have dedicated more
than 100 years of time to the paper, a paper that has grown up alongside
the community for more than 70 years.
Where are we now?
Each week we cover as much community news and information as we
can with our limited resources. Besides producing an award-winning
publication, we have managed, in the past year, to donate more than
$30,000 worth of sponsorships to other organizations that are also
dedicated to helping build our community.
While we are proud of our efforts and accomplishments, we are not
satisfied. We want more. We dream of doing much more for this community
and we feel very strongly that the community does, in fact, need
much more from us.
We would love to have the resources and space to cover more community
events. We’d like to have a regular teen section where the
young leaders of our community could develop a voice. We would like
to be able to publish more news about Israel and have more editorial
room to educate our community about the Jewish world around us with
features and opinions coming from around the globe. We would like
to provide the community with ongoing columns on such things as
health, family, business and education.
But, right now, we cannot afford to do more. We need the support
of the community. Only through increased subscriptions and more
advertising can we accomplish these goals.
With the financial support that we currently receive and appreciate
from the community, we will continue to publish an excellent 16-page
weekly publication that provides a service many of you have found
to be vital. We would, however, like to grow as the community grows,
and offer you a larger publication, filled with more community names
and faces.
The Bulletin shouldn’t be just another newspaper that
you read along with the Vancouver Sun or the Georgia Straight.
This is a Jewish publication that plays a significant role in the
community. Its strength comes from the strength of its friends and
community members.
Many individuals, families and organizations have supported this
paper over the years. Our gratitude for that support has led us
to one of several new initiatives we are introducing at the paper.
In the near future, a new “Thank You” box will grace our
table of contents page. Each week, we will show our appreciation
for those who have contributed greatly, through advertising, to
the continuation of a weekly Jewish community publication in British
Columbia.
Also, in a continued effort to increase our readership, we will
extend until the end of April a recent special that offers a half-price
subscription for new subscribers.
We are also considering several other projects that will give us
the opportunity to contribute even more to the local Jewish community
and Israel.
The ideas we have for this paper are endless. Unfortunately, the
money we have is not.
Every dollar of support given to the Bulletin makes a significant
difference. So, if you’re considering cancelling your subscription
because you can read it at your bubbe’s house on Shabbat or
you just don’t have the time to read it, please reconsider
and continue to endorse the Jewish Bulletin.
Thank you for supporting us thus far and thank you for allowing
us to be a part of the community. We look forward to many more fruitful
years of working with you.
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