Touring through great civic conversations

Elton John’s concert at the Covelli Centre sold out in 30 seconds, or something obscene like that.

It’s a monumental achievement to bring such a tour to the Valley.

There’s a less-monumental tour making its way through the Valley. It’s less “Rocket Man” and more fish-fry man.

Call it my “Todd 2-10 Tour” and it’s been to Austintown, Poland, Boardman and Youngstown.

Friday saw me making my way to the Youngstown Kiwanis luncheon at the Downtown YMCA.

The luncheon talk went the way of the other tour stops thus far this year: Polite crowd, good questions, loyalty to The Vindy — but not without high expectations.

The new newspaper was on the minds of the gentlemen of the Downtown Kiwanis — who were fueled by fantastic fish from Jorgine’s Deli, one of downtown’s hidden jewels inside the YMCA.

One gent was irked that we’ve spent a lot of money on a press — and photos are still coming out slightly off measure. It’s irking us as well.

The new press and the various machines that power it contain a lot of moving parts and new technology. It’s a lot to get operational and not something easily perfected “offline.” It’s a process where we have to work it to know it. When it all comes together, it will be a top-notch product. Already, the results are promising from reader satisfaction and newspaper sales reports.

At a dinner event at the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, a question arose about our news plans. The gentleman was a classic, traditional “news guy” who wanted a strong lineup of Washington-Columbus-council-type news and critical issues of the day.

That same meeting included a request for a news story about the success of the Boardman High School bowling team. So I asked the classic news guy if the bowling story was newsworthy to him. He said it wasn’t.

“What is news” is of constant debate inside and outside our office.

People like newspapers because they’re “all things.” As our staff and newspaper sizes consolidate in step with national media and advertising shifts, our ability to have broad news offerings across many interests also shifts. Where we once had a page or two of Washington news and a 20-page weekly section on society and civic club news, it’s all consolidated — sometimes onto the same page.

One club remembered the time when a Vindy staffer was part of their club and helped get their news in the paper.

We have staffers who lead youth groups, help in church, coach teams, etc. We’re a fairly active bunch. That said — to get your news into The Vindy does not require us to be present — either in our personal lives or in our professional role as reporters.

We’re often asked “Will the Vindy be there?”

As long as we’re publishing, we’re “there” in a sense. But getting your news into The Vindy may require more participation from the community. Simply send us a photo and a few paragraphs, and we can make news items out of almost any event.

The “Todd 2-10” tour has pending stops in Struthers, Boardman and Youngstown.

It’s not Elton, but it’s not bad, either.