Bound Volume Number
IX
Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-5-2015
Capstone Advisor
Prof. Steve Davis
Honors Reader
Prof. Gustav Niebuhr
Capstone Major
Magazine, Newspaper, and Online Journalism
Capstone College
Public Communications
Audio/Visual Component
no
Keywords
homeless, street newspapers
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Professional
Subject Categories
Nonfiction
Abstract
By creating opportunities for microentrepreneurship, street papers have been tackling homelessness and poverty in U.S. cities since the late 1980s. Homeless or low-income vendors purchase these social justice-oriented publications for a fraction of the cover price, and then resell them on street corners for profit. By 2015 the self-help model had spread to 35 U.S. cities, according to the International Network of Street Papers. These cities range significantly in characteristics such as population size, climate, geographic location and political atmosphere.
Drawing on interviews with more than 20 editors, staff and vendors at North American street papers, I have identified five factors that tend to contribute to a paper’s success in any given city. These factors address both qualities of the host city, such as significant pedestrian traffic, and qualities of the paper itself, such as the support of a pre-existing nonprofit organization. I next considered these factors in the context of one case study: Groundcover News in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This case study in turn provided insight into the final aspect of the capstone: determining whether Syracuse, New York, could support a successful street paper. Based on analysis of census data, interviews with representatives from Syracuse-based social service organizations and the application of previously gathered information, I concluded that a street paper in Syracuse would face no insurmountable obstacles.
Recommended Citation
Gorny, Nicole, "Word on the Street: Examining What Characteristics of a Street Paper and its Host City Best Contribute to Success" (2015). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 896.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/896
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