After posting the masthead for the first time on Dec. 4, 2009, there was no way to know what would happen next. But it happened. It will continue to happen. We thought it would be fun to do some redecorating, reorganizing and renewing on Jan. 4, 2024 to step formally into our 15th year online.
The redecorating you can see for yourself. We will still be focused on covering local news, the arts, and keeping all of our community connected. We have learned a few things about how life online has grown and changed; we no longer post comments on regular articles (sadly, a troll magnet) but we do allow comments on obituaries (people sometimes find these many years later, and often reach out to connect with others about the loss.) If you want to share your perspective, we have Letters to the Editor.
Letters to the Editor will be changing as well – now that we are receiving correspondence from ChatGPT, we are going to need a phone number with your email, so we can call and make sure you are human; that Uncanny Valley is really dark. Recent events have also caused a need to focus on the difference between free speech and hate speech. We will be applying a more selective filter to our LtEs, and we remain committed to supporting a platform for the entire community.
We are also going to be encouraging you to subscribe, as lots of evidence shows that many of our readers are people reading links that subscribers have shared with them. You can still drop in anytime, but wouldn’t you rather get an email? (Don’t make me get all paywall on you.) Cheers to our new subscription service – giving our business to MailerLite rather than monkeying around with endless problems from MailChimp, we deliver Culver City Crossroads Monday through Friday at 3 pm. To everyone, without fail. (Bonus lesson from MailChimp – it seems the larger the company, the worse their customer service response. If we can’t be 100% local, we can at least stay small.)
As always, we offer huge gratitude to all our sponsors and advertisers. You could look them up on Google or Yelp, but there is no higher standard than seeing an ad for a local business or service on Culver City Crossroads. These are goods and services (and events and individuals) that we have done business with and whole heartedly recommend ( Can’t say enough about TING rescuing us from the constant problems and disappointments of Spectrum; service from TING has been stellar.)
AND our subscribers – the thousands of Culver City folks who read every day, and support democracy by supporting independent journalism. Who could have foreseen how crucial that would become, a mere 15 years ago? Or how vital it’s going to be in the year approaching?
As we roll out slowly, (there are still a few more changes in the pipeline) we’d love to hear what you think. Now is the time to email that to [email protected]. We have no idea what the next 15 years will look like, but staying connected will be essential. Intersectionality is the name of the game. In Culver City, Crossroads is the place to do it.
Judith Martin-Straw, Publisher & Editor
