WPCNR WHITE PLAINS VARIETY. By John F. Bailey. March 12, 2004, UPDATED 3:00 P.M. E.S.T.: The Committee to Save the White Plains Watch met Thursday evening at United Methodist Church in White Plains. Susan Chang reported that The Watch Subscription Role is growing with over 60 new subcriptions either pledged, or donated since last weekend. Susan Chang, Publisher of The Watch, who suspended publication January 1, said today in an e-mail thanking participants that she needed 240 subscribers to start the paper up once more.

WPCNR got the sense from last night's meeting that The Watch would not be publishing until May, and Ms. Chang did not commit to the committee a date when the comeback issue would be published. On Friday morning, Ms. Chang has written confidantes the countdown to the comeback now sits on 240 more subscriptions needed to signify enough of a community commitment to bring the paper back.

THE WATCH ON THE WATCH CONTINUES: Saul Yanofsky, former Superintendent of Schools, left, chairs Thursday evening's meeting of the White Plains Committee to Save the Watch. Photo by WPCNR News.

Speaking before an attendance that reached 19 persons, Dr. Saul Yanofsky, former Superintendent of Schools in White Plains, now Associate Dean with Westchester Community College reported on Ms. Chang's progress in the last two weeks. He said at the outset of the meeting that the efforts of the last two months had produced a lot of "appreciation across the city that the White Plains Watch was valuable," adding that it reported on matters that other media did not, such as school matters, student achievements, neighborhood issues.

He introduced Ms. Chang, whom Jack Harrington later said was looking much better and feeling much better than she had appeared and acted at the previous meeting.

Chang said she had been receiving increasing support from residents giving gift subscriptions, and pledges from persons "extending across the city," and sums of money in the form of donated subscriptions, which Chang said could be given to any one. She said at the start of the meeting they needed 280 and apparently during the meeting and Friday morning, forty more subscriptions equivalents were received, and now she needs just 240.

Chang announced she had agreed to hire a new person, Toni Cox-Burns, a retired teacher and a Board Member of the White Plains Public Library Foundation Board, to assist her when the paper returns to publication. Gasparas, Chang said, worked with The Herald a community newspaper in Savannah, Georgia and would bring that successful experience there to the Watch, and help work to raise the subscription level.

She said she had also agreed to follow the advice of the Committee and install an Advisory Board consisting of  Mitch Alcheron, a direct marketing expert who works with Sports Illustrated (and donated the recent Watch flyer sent to the community asking for subscriptions), Stan Green, Jack Harrington, Alan Hammelstein, Carlos Mahia, Sarena Russell, and Dr. Yanofsky to help her steer the paper direction.

Effort to Balance the new Paper

Chang said she was concerned that The Watch had been perceived as too much of an advocacy paper for certain points of view. She said she could not help that "because it's sort of like the way I am."

 She said one of the purposes of the Advisory Board was "to make sure I stay on track."

"There are certain segments (of the community) that don't feel they participate (in the paper), and I want to make sure that (feeling) goes away." She said earnestly.

She said one of the new features of the rebirth of The Watch would be a public forum by e-mail on important issues, "to express their points of view."  She said she would include more Point-Counterpoint discussions with advocates on opposite sides of an issue.

Looking for Office Space.

Jack Harrington, former President of the White Plains Historical Society, a new Advisory Board member was introduced by Dr. Yanofsky.

Harrington said he had had a two-hour meeting with Sister Alice Feely of Good Council School, to discuss the possibility of Ms. Chang relocating White Plains Watch offices there. It was not mentioned whether this would be donated office space. He said it looked very good for that to happen.

Harrington reported that a fund was being established to deposit monies sent in by residents for "donated subscriptions."

He added that the most important thing to do was retain advertisers whom he said appeared supportive, and to get more.

There was suggestion of  doing subscription drives during the Saint Patrick's Day Parade and volunteers were being sought.