For the past 21 years, the RoundTable has published a print edition of the newspaper every other week. More than a decade ago, the RoundTable added a website, evanstonroundtable.com. Our online archives contain more than 17,000 stories.
On Nov. 14, the RoundTable’s 26th magazine, “Our Evanston,” will be published and distributed to homes and community locations.
During our 21 years, the paper, its writers, designers and photographers have received many local and regional awards for their news reporting, education reporting, feature stories, photography, columns, humor and design. Last week, the paper’s writers, photographer and one designer collectively received 17 awards in many of these categories from the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association.
The paper’s mission has been to find and share stories about the community of Evanston so that we can educate our readers about this remarkable community. This is Evanston, not Lake Woebegone, and some of our stories reflected the persistent challenges faced by an urban-suburban community that is racially, ethnically and economically diverse.
We have held elected and appointed officials to account at both the City and the School Districts. We have argued for affordable housing and social justice in the community. We have maintained our stance that the School Districts must have high standards and educate all of our children to their fullest potential.
Our intent has always been to be a free paper. We distributed the newspaper free of charge throughout the community, so people of all income levels can have access to it.
Like hundreds of newspapers throughout the county, though, the RoundTable’s advertising revenues are no longer sufficient to sustain a print edition of the paper.
After publication of the Nov 14 paper, the RoundTable will take a hiatus from printing the newspaper. We will devote our time to upgrading the paper’s online newspaper, the revamped version of which will be unveiled within the next four to six weeks.
In so doing, we plan to adhere to the same level of journalism that we have had in the past. Our commitment to this community and to delivering high-quality, bias-free stories and emphatic editorials and columns remains. Only our platform will change. We will ask for the community’s support as we make this shift.
During the next few months, we will also be considering several options for the future of the print edition of the paper.
We encourage our readers to sign up for email alerts when we post new articles to the online site. To do so, click on the box in the top left side of RoundTable’s homepage, evanstonroundtable.com and fill in the form.