Thread by @WritingAnderson

Hey all! I’m going to the Devil Strip’s “Special Membership Meeting” tonight at 6 (via ZOOM) and I’ll tweet what I can while it’s happening.

Before this meeting starts here’s a little background...

Chris Horne founded The Devil Strip in 2014 as a free Arts & Culture magazine. @akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne I’ve been writing for TDS, mostly about beer and breweries, on-and-off since 2016. I wasn’t a writer when I started, but Chris reached out to me because I was posting about a lot of local beer on social media. #ladybeerdrinker

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne I earned my co-op shareholder status by contributing the necessary amount of published articles to become a member. thedevilstrip.com/?s=emily+ander…

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne OK. So in July 2018, we got a new Editor-In-Chief, Rosalie Murphy. She was great and offered us contributors some free training on interviewing techniques, researching, story ideas, etc. I learned a lot. @rozmurph

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph Rosie left in April 2021, around the same time as a few long-timers Floco and Noor. I don’t think these departures are some kind of conspiracy - each individual had their own personal reasons for leaving - it was just a lot of managerial loss at once @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi TDS hired a new Editor-in-Chief, Jessica Holbrook, in July. I personally never got the chance to meet her IRL, but she was super responsive and helpful with the pieces we worked on together virtually.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi A few months later, Chris Horne went on a sabbatical. Here’s the announcement/explanation in an article he published on Medium on September 27
medium.com/@chrishorne/th…

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi On October 18th, the public, including co-op members and contributors, received this message in emails and on social media from TDS:

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi The next day they posted this

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi This one is signed by Emily Dressler, Katie Robbins, and Richelle Wardell - 3 remaining board members of TDS. The other 9 members resigned, including Chairman Michael Gintert.
Here’s the former Board line-up: thedevilstrip.com/our-board-of-d…

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi Here are Chris Horne’s comments on everything so far:

https://twitter.com/thischrishorne/status/1450611287029915655

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi Next, this was posted on October 21

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi On October 22 the remaining board shared this live document of FAQs: (it doesn't answer any of my questions but feel free to check it out):
docs.google.com/document/d/1uB…

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi Replies from 2 former full-time reporters with TDS
@hcomeriato
@AbbeyMarshall

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall

https://twitter.com/hcomeriato/status/1452262876228509705

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall As of today, the website is still up and still asking for people to become paying members.
The social media accounts are all still up and running, but nobody is replying to comments.
facebook.com/thedevilstrip

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall An article from Akron Beacon Journal about all this: beaconjournal.com/story/news/202…

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall And here’s the last thing they’ve posted as of this afternoon

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall I got an email with a link to the Zoom meeting today at 6 this morning.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall I don’t have much of an opinion on anything so far, just a million questions.
I’ll pick this thread back up when the meeting starts.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Just waiting to be let into the zoom meeting rn...

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Wesley Ian is the moderator, explaining how the meeting is about to go down... "The important thing is to keep it real.. and to recognize how high emotions have been"

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall There are 61 people attending the zoom. I can't tell how many people are in the physical meeting room at Bounce.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Statement from Board Members Dressler, Robbins, and Wardell: Dressler does the talking - they thank a handful of the staff members and introduce the board.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Dressler says they want to come up with a viable business plan to keep the co-op running. They also warn that they do not have all the answers tonight.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Wardell takes the mic and tells us that the board still takes its role very seriously.
They provide a timeline of events:

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Wardell is going into more detail than what is on that image, explaining how they opened a new bank account upon the President's (Horne) unpaid leave

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall The transition team was surprised by "debt and cash on hand" amounts... it was recommended that the paper stop publishing on October 12. When this information was brought before the board on the 17th, 5 members of the board resigned.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Wardell emphasizes that financial investigations and Horne's sabbatical are unrelated. They say their reliance on grant funding was unsustainable, and that ad sales plummeted during the pandemic.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Now we hear from Robbins, who says they're committed to their position at TDS. They say the original business plan with advertising and membership revenue was a good plan.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall "Over $500K of funding came in..." from foundations since 2017 - Robbins

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall They believe that money that has been coming in for certain purposes has been spent elsewhere in several instances

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall TDS is also in debt to the government and vendors, Robbins describes the financial situation as "entangled," and they need a forensic accountant to separate the LLCs debts from the co-op's debts.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Robbins says in the meantime, they're still asking for donations, and anxious to set up an interim board

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Jessica Holbrook on takes over - they say that only one person, the founder, had the entire picture of TDS' financial situation. They say they had no intention of misleading the community or the staff.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall The Q&A is about to start - I missed the moderator's name but they're asking everyone to stick to questions (not statements) and to focus on moving forward.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall You can send questions to [e-mail]

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall first question: Has anyone reached out to current advertisers and asked for extra help? A: yes, a few of them, and yes, they're willing to help.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: the 2021 sale - what was the price? who determined the value of the paper? A: there was an agreement that the co-op would pay $16K for the paper and roughly $60k in liability

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: Does the paper have a dedicated development director for funding beyond advertising? A: there's a sales director

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: Is anyone dedicated to managing the cooperative? Do they know how? A: I think that was the board. We've all learned a lot about the structure of the cooperative. "This is the first news coop in the country...there's a lot of work to do in that aspect" - Robbins

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: What were some of the reasons that some of the board members gave for stepping down? A: We can't speak for them. Some were time commitment reasons, health reasons.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: How do you think you're going to rebuild public trust? A: in the future, questions and decisions will be presented to the coop membership. A lot of community members are already ready to give it a try.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: The money that was spent somewhere other than what it was intended for - how do you prevent that from happening again? A: You have a financial manager who knows what they're doing.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Someone wants to know if they're being guarded for legal reasons or if they actually don't know the answers to some of these questions.
They're nodding at him...looks like there are some things they're just not comfortable with or allowed to say

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: What is your plan to improve communication with the coop going forward? A: the board just got the keys to be able to communicate with the members (emails) on Tuesday. They want members to "step up and help them" get everyone involved.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: Was communication with the coop a problem? A: Well, the board didn't have a list of the emails but the staff communicated with the coop.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: Is there a register for the coop membership? A: Yes. 800-something people are eligible to vote.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: Sounds like the co-treasurers had no authority? They want to make a proposal for something (I can't hear this person very well)

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall The question is "Are the people who made the mistakes still working for TDS" and the answer is "Do we want to keep TDS around or not" (ok?)

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: What's up with all the board members cycling on and off all the time? Why don't they serve longer? A: Things happen..they don't really answer this one.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: How didn't the board know what was happening? A: there were a lot of questions the board had that were not getting answered

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: How soon can we get a plan together to get the staff back to work? A: If we were to pick up tomorrow and operate how we were operating, we'll be right back here again. We need a plan.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall They said they don't expect to be putting out a paper by December

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: Do we have a list of the coop members or do we have a list of emails? A: They're not sure, but they don't think the email list is the only list they have. Also, "we're not staff"

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: Do we have readership numbers for print vs. digital so we could share this with advertisers? A: Great idea let's do it!

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: What is the process for someone who is an advertiser and needs a refund? A: email [e-mail]

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: When paying owed debts, will full-time staff and contributors from marginalized communities be prioritized? A: "I want to say yes" that's what they want to use the GoFundMe for, but not sure at this point.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Someone suggests that they do a board retreat and make a master plan. The board says that sounds good.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall The board also points out that TDS is NOT a nonprofit publication. It's a coop. This status affects the eligibility status for some grants.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: Was there mismanagement happening at the formation of the coop and the sale of the paper? A: There was a PPP loan that had to be used before the sale could go through.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: What does sustainability look like for TDS? A: That is their focus right now - having conversations that will help them devise a sustainable plan. "I really hope you'll be diving in to help us out"

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Q: The $75k fundraiser - does it make sense to stop printing and go digital for a while? A: That was an initial thought, but they still need a plan.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall They also say the print ads brought in way more money than digital ads so that's a tough one...

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Someone suggests that they do their research on coops and says the board doesn't understand coops.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Yoli's on the mic - they say they believe in the paper and speak about the importance of TDS's place in our community, and explain how to vote.

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall They're looking for people to fill some roles (obviously)

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Members have until the end of this month to fill out this survey: forms.gle/Lf4BUtYY1FTqgA…

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall part of the ballot is a volunteer sign-up for anyone who wants to help out

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall Here's the member-only Facebook group that will be used for communication
facebook.com/groups/3932288…

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall

@akrondevilstrip @thischrishorne @rozmurph @FlocoTorres @MyNrhindi @hcomeriato @AbbeyMarshall That's it.
Looks like The Devil Strip lives, if barely, for now. I'm curious to see what happens next here - the coop is really going to have to coop it

If I can keep spotlighting cool businesses and people in my community through TDS, I'm going to do it. It's not often that people who care about an organization actually get to pick up the pieces after it falls apart.