A Real Change vendor |
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| Type | Weekly street newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact |
| Founder | Tim Harris |
| Editor | Amy Roe |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Circulation | 11,000 weekly[1] |
| Official website | realchangenews.org |
Real Change is a weekly street newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is sold by the poor, many of whom are homeless, providing them an alternative to panhandling. It is written and produced, however, by professional staff, and covers mainstream news as well as homelessness issues. It became weekly in 2005, making it the second American street newspaper ever to be published weekly. Real Change is a 501 c 3 non-profit organization and has a $950,000 annual budget.[2]
Contents |
Real Change has been published by the Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project since 1994;[3][4] the paper's founder, Tim Harris, had founded the Spare Change News street newspaper in the Boston area in 1992, and started Real Change when he moved to Seattle. It started off as a monthly paper with only one staff member, but later became bi-weekly.[3] In February 2005, because of increasing sales and interest in the paper, Real Change started to be published weekly,[3] making it the second weekly street newspaper in the country.[note 1] In addition to becoming a weekly newspaper, it hired several professional journalists and shifted its focus so that it also covered mainstream news, rather than only poverty issues.[1][5]
As a biweekly, it sold about 18,000 copies every two weeks,[3] and after becoming weekly it sold 11,000 copies a week in 2005, making it one of the most widely circulated street newspapers in the United States;[1] it sold slightly over 450,000 copies total in 2004.[3] In 2008 it sold about 72,000 copies in the month of December.[6]
The paper is funded mainly by sales and advertising, which made up 40% of its revenue in 2004, and by private donations, which made up about 35%.[1][3]
The topics covered in Real Change are a mixture of mainstream local news and information specifically pertaining to the homeless and poor; even though it covers mainstream news, though, it still openly advocates for "social justice"[1] and attempts to educate readers about homelessness.[3] Some readers, though, admit that they buy the paper more to help out and interact with the vendors than to actually read the contents;[5][7] this pattern of buying is common among street newspapers.[8][9][10] Part of the reason for the paper's going weekly in 2005 was to attract more readers and avoid being seen as a "charity buy" rather than a legitimate sources of news.[5]
Anyone may apply to be a vendor for Real Change, although most vendors are poor or unable to hold a regular job because of mental illness, criminal records, or other issues.[7] All vendors must sign a code of conduct. Vendors get the first 10 papers free when they sign up;[7] after that they keep 65 cents for every dollar paper they sell.[1] Harris, the paper's executive director, claims there are about 250 regular vendors,[7][11] although there may be as many as 800 vendors in a year if occasional vendors are included.[3]
Several vendors are very successful, selling as many as 2,000 papers a month and being known as "fixtures" in the community;[7] most, however, sell far less than that.[11] Real Change vendors operate under a "turf system," under which vendors who sell over a certain number of papers per month get rights to sell at a certain spot; according to Harris, this system allows buyer-vendor relationships to build up and for vendors to become well known in particular communities, and can minimize conflict and competition between vendors.[7] Most vendors sell within Seattle proper, although some sell in the Eastside.[3] Vendors may sell without restriction on sidewalks, but sometimes need to obtain a license to sell in commercial areas like malls.[3]
According to a 2003 survey of Real Change vendors, 63 percent of people selling Real Change were white; 74 percent were male; at least 83 percent were over the age of 38; and 45 percent had a physical disability (according to Harris, 63 percent do[11]).[3] Real Change's 2008 Annual Report shows that the percentage of vendors who are white has declined somewhat, to 56 percent; the percent who are male has declined very slightly to 71 percent; a different age breakdown shows 54 percent between ages 31 and 50, and 40 percent 51 or older; and 72 percent with a physical or mental disability.[12]
Not all the vendors of Real Change are homeless at a given time; several are able to afford an apartment off the money they make from selling the paper, and others share accommodations with others. Like Washington, D.C.'s Street Sense and Portland, Oregon's Street Roots, Real Change does not screen incoming vendors for income or living situation, nor does it "retire" vendors after they have obtained stable housing. The paper's staff have stated, however, that the majority of vendors are living in poverty and no vendors are "living in the bling-bling" from selling papers.[7] According to Real Change's 2008 Annual Report, 56 percent of vendors are currently homeless: 19 percent sleeping outside, 12 percent in shelters, 10 percent are "not housed, sleeping in multiple places," 7 percent "staying with friends or family", 4 percent are sleeping in cars; no detail was available on the rest. The vast bulk of those who are housed—36 percent of all vendors—are in subsidized housing. Only 7 percent of vendors have never been homeless.[12]
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