By A.S. Kinsman

This morning members of SMCC’s The Beacon were treated to the privilege of being in the company of “Eggs & Issues”. Eggs & Issues is the Portland Community Chamber of Commerce’s monthly business forum where the community gathers to discuss business issues of the day, according to the official website. At this particular meeting, the featured speaker was Lisa DeSisto, CEO and Publisher for MaineToday Media Inc. She was there to speak on the behalf of the Portland Press Herald, including the launch of a new section in the Sunday edition and of a new marketing approach the paper will soon be implementing. Other members of SMCC were invited to the forum, including President Cantor and several prominent faculty members.

The forum was held at the Holiday Inn in Portland on Spring Street. At 7 am, business owners, teachers, high school students, college students, political figures, and other members of the community dressed in their best attire (formal black tie event) and made the pilgrimage to the conference room of the Holiday Inn. They drank coffee and tea and participated in a meet-and-greet while the rest of the guests arrived. Shortly after, guests filed into the common room to their assigned tables, and enjoyed a meal of either eggs or fruit tarts, upon request. Once breakfast was eaten, a speaker gave a brief introduction, including mentioning sponsors of the event and giving a summary of what the main speaker was going to talk about.

Lisa DeSisto took the stage and spoke in length about the Portland Press Herald, owned by her company, MaineToday Media. She boasted of the Herald’s prestige and demand for skilled journalists and of the high quality of material available in the paper. DeSisto expounded upon the newest addition to the Maine Sunday Telegram, a section called Source, devoted to food, namely, homegrown and organic produce.

DeSisto also introduced the company’s next step in growing business. The Herald was once available free of charge on all electronic, online-accessing devices, including laptops and smartphones. However, this free ride will soon be ending. In response to the rise of technology, DeSisto announced they will no longer offer this service for free. Instead, users and readers will be given a five-time limit to access their online articles per month, and will be met with a paywall from each visit afterwards in order to pay for their readership. The rate for an online subscription is currently unknown. Regular hardcopy circulation rates remain at $1.00 per day. The Sunday Telegram price is $1.75 in southern Maine and $2.00 elsewhere. The rates have not changed in the past twenty years.

The forum ended with an open microphone Q&A. One man pointed out the fact that sometimes he did not receive a paper on certain days, even though he had paid for a monthly subscription. DeSisto responded with the fact that this past winter has been difficult for deliveries, due to weather and road conditions, but promised to amend the problem of skipped deliveries. Another man mentioned that he would like to hear about more ‘good news’, remarking that most of what he read in the Herald was ‘depressing, pessimistic, negative news’. Many others in the room either nodded or murmured their support. DeSisto commended the man for his comment and praised the idea of adding more positive news to the newspaper.

The Portland Press Herald remains the most widely published newspaper in the state of Maine and promises to improve themselves even more for their ever-growing readers. Circulation numbers in 2012 included 47,326 on weekdays, 44,358 on Saturdays, and 76,015 on Sundays. Over 4.6 million hits were registered on the website in November 2011. Other states, including ones as far away as Arizona, have regular readers of the Portland Press Herald.

DeSisto thanked the guests for their time and questions, and gave each a copy of Source, along with an eco-friendly pot, and a packet of spinach seeds. She promised to make the Herald even better with input from the local community.

The next speaker at Eggs & Issues will be Governor Paul LePage on May 8^th, 2014.