INC NEWS - Free homegrown magazine focuses on positive news (Herald-Sun)

[John Schelp]

Excellent... and kudos to the Herald-Sun for printing
it...

Free homegrown magazine focuses on positive news
By BriAnne Dopart, Herald-Sun, 15 August 2006    

Patricia A. Murray is full of good news. 

Like the free newspaper she's been issuing monthly
since arriving in Durham from Chicago six years ago,
writer-photographer-publisher Murray tries to focus on
the positive. 

Murray's paper, the Durham Skywriter, is a 30-ish-page
newsmagazine that offers a friendly report on life in
urban Durham. The good news is much needed, Murray
said, at a time when other news agencies have gone too
far in reporting negative news. 

In daily newspapers such as The Herald-Sun, one might
read about Mayor Bill Bell's intentions to combat
increasing crime. But in July's Skywriter, found in
dining establishments and grocery stores across the
city, the only mayoral exposé was Bell's favorite
summer snacks. 

This is not to say Murray's paper offers trivial
tidbits in place of hard news. July's issue also
features the history of the Video Service Act. And the
publication regularly offers guest columns and
thoughts for inspiration. 

But while newspaper journalists might visit public
housing communities in the wake of a shooting, murder
or standoff, you'll find Murray, sporting her yellow
Skywriter T-shirt, camera and reporter's notebook in
tow, haunting the same communities on the average day
-- seeking positive news to spread. 

"What is that phrase? If it bleeds it leads?" Murray
asked, quoting the common journalism catchphrase that
she said drives local media. "I honestly don't think
they have the courage to step away from some bad
news." 

So it is in the District 4 neighborhood in which
Murray lives with her aunt, who suffers from
Alzheimer's disease, as well as the South Side Chicago
neighborhood where she grew up, she said. 

"When you're a black South-Sider, you start to realize
what media bias is all about. They come to your
community for the bad stuff. All the good stories
would come out of Hyde Park (a more affluent South
Side area), but we got the crumbs." 

In response, Murray, a graduate of Talladega College
in Alabama got creative. 

She started her own community-focused, black-oriented
newspaper called the South Side Scoop (known as The
Woodlawn Scoop when she began), and delivered good
news -- announcements of events, local heroes and
neighborhood initiatives. The paper, which she
admittedly describes as a "dinky" 11x17-inch free
publication, had a small staff, with Murray working
double-time as editor and deliverywoman. 

Murray's Chicago paper grew, however, flourishing in a
city where Murray said it wasn't considered odd or
different to start one's own paper. Hers was one of a
dozen of its kind. 

In Durham, however, Murray said it has taken some
folks a while to recognize The Durham Skywriter as a
member of the city's media. 

"When I came out with the Skywriter, people were like,
'What's this?' or 'But we already have a free
newspaper,' " she said. 

Part of the struggle, Murray said, is being a
newcomer. Even after six years in Durham, Murray said
many residents still view her as a visitor. While
Murray's "Scoop" eventually went on to report harder
news -- such as the building of a minimum-security
jail near an elementary school -- she said she's still
too new in Durham to take on more controversial
stories. 

While she might think she's only scratched the surface
of reportable news, community activists and leaders
say Murray and her niche publication are a welcome
addition to the Bull City. 

"She's just an authentic community person," said Bill
Anderson, Partners Against Crime volunteer and former
president of the InterNeighborhood Council. 

While she said she's conservative in her topics,
Murray is liberally distributing her news. On 90.7 FM,
North Carolina Central University's radio station,
Murray broadcasts "Radio Skywriter," a 28-minute radio
version of her print publication, at 11:30 a.m. every
Saturday. 

In the meantime, Murray said she's keeping her eyes
open and has a notebook full of ideas. 

"There are still a million stories that are going
untold," she said.