Island Free Press ...Local News

By IRENE NOLAN

The Island Free Press has been online now for almost six weeks, and the response has been both impressive and humbling for me and for my colleagues in this venture.

It is impressive because, at age 61, I’ve never considered myself part of the Internet generation. I can do Google searches for information I need. And, I can browse the Internet for items I can’t find on the islands.

Much of what I’ve learned about working online has been from friends, my son – and even my grandchildren. The rest has been through trial and error. I’ve made some bad mistakes and learned to never do that again, and I’ve solved some thorny problems myself – even though in most cases I don’t understand or can’t remember what I did to fix them.

Then here comes The Island Free Press into my life.

It has totally changed the way that I view journalism, especially in a small area such as Hatteras and Ocracoke that can’t support daily or even weekly newspapers dedicated to our communities only.

And I have been struck by how diverse our “community” is.

The newspaper targets a specific geographic area – Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. But, more importantly, it brings together a community of people who are spread all over the country and in foreign lands, all of whom have a vested interest in preserving the past, illuminating the current issues, and shaping the future of these islands.

Since The Island Free Press debut, about 75 percent of the letters to the editor and comments on the startup of the paper have been from folks who don’t live here. We have an e-mail list of about 800 people right now, and a majority of those folks are spread all over the country and around the world.

They are islanders who are working and living overseas – in the Navy in Sicily, with security contractors in Qatar, charter fishing in Costa Rica. They are islanders who have moved away for one reason or another and are so pleased to have a way to keep in touch.

And they are our extended community – all of those people who visit here regularly, many of whom own property here (or wish they did). They want to be in touch with the islands that they love so dearly, to know what the issues are, to see photos of a place they feel connected to and miss and look forward to coming back to.

Then, of course, there is the immediacy of this medium. As a former editor of a monthly newspaper, I really love this part. When a storm threatens, the information can be out there right away. When there are developments in such issues as replacing the bridge or driving on the beach, we can get it out there in a timely manner.

Even when there is sad news to post, such as the sudden death of Dale Burrus of Hatteras village, the obituary and a guest column about the loss to Hatteras Island were online within a day or two. Within an hour of when the obituary was posted, I had an email from Costa Rica from someone who would be missing Dale. Now that is impressive.

We’ve also had terrific support from the Hatteras and Ocracoke business people who have signed on with the advertising we need to keep paying the bills.

We hope now for continued support from the community and from our readers.

We want your letters to the editor and your comments on the site – what you like and what you think we should do differently.

We want guest columns about issues that face our communities – or just great stories about your experiences on the island.

We’d love to get your pictures and your stories of great vacations or terrific fishing trips or your favorite things to do and places to visit when you are here.

In the past few weeks, we have added subject pages to our original lineup of local news, a community page, and commentary and letters. New are Special Features with a short story about romance and intrigue on Ocracoke, an Island History page with stories about World War II on the Outer Banks, a Fishing Page that includes news and features about both recreational and commercial fishing, and a Real Estate and Business page.

Coming in the next week are pages on Island Life and Lifestyles (including food and dining, books and arts, and health and wellness) and Nature and the Environment. After that we will add pages on Places to Go and Things to Do and on Schools and Sports.

We’ve produced slide shows that have been very popular – on the Hatteras Village Surf Fishing Tournament, Day at the Docks, the Hatteras Island Cancer Foundation fishing tournament for youngsters, and The Eastern National Surfing Competition.

You can also find articles that have been posted and removed on the Archives page – and you can search on that page for specific subjects in which you are interested.

The last two months have been quite the ride for all of us. We’ve never worked harder and never been so rewarded by all of the encouraging and enthusiastic messages from readers.

I’ve also been blessed to work with a terrific team of professionals, all of whom are just as thrilled as I am that The Island Free Press has been welcomed so warmly. These folks include advertising sales manager Pam Stoffel, graphic designer Donna Barnett, and our Web site designers Buddy Swain and Jim Boyd.

And these professionals also include the writers and photographers I have been working with for some time now and who also believe in the mission of The Island Free Press.

I can’t claim to be a “visionary,” as some admirers have suggested. The truth is that when I launched this venture, I don’t think I – or any of the others involved – actually realized the impact it could have on our community.

But we know now.