15 Years and Still Going: Access Press, May 1990
to May 2005
by
Terri Ricci
For 15 years, Access
Press has been bringing Minnesotans news that affect the disability
community. When Charlie Smith and his father, Bill, started the
venture of researching the feasibility of a disability newspaper,
I don’t know if they knew how
important it would become, even after 15 years. I believe they
never dreamed that Access Press would become the major source of
disability information for the community. They must have had many
questions:
• Is there a need for a newspaper focusing on people with disabilities?
• Are there enough people with disabilities who will read the
paper?
• Can we find enough advertisers to financially support this
venture?
I would have to answer YES, Charlie, there is. Our readers survey
in the past few months solidified a few of these answers and some
the advertisers are still here and new ones have joined the bandwagon.
We have become stronger
in the past few years. We have increased the number of pages
we publish each month. We have added a What
is? section, which
describes diseases and illnesses that affect people with disabilities.
The “InBrief” section has
been expanded and reformatted into the News
At A Glance section.
We have also added the Upcoming
Events section to inform our readers
about dates of trainings, celebrations, or other important workshops.
Watch in the June and July issues for more information about the
anniversary of Access Press.
15 years and still
going—like the Energizer Bunny and the
community we are proud to serve.
