Goodman Community Center | Change not kind to ESN in 1960s; road to…

Change not kind to ESN in 1960s; road to rebirth begins in ’70s

With all the changes in the 1960s, it was destined that local news would experience change as well.

October 9, 2024 |
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Remember, read your community newspaper!
The east side community was reminded to support its local newspaper, East Side News, in this 1960s house ad.

By Leo Link and Dave Link, Eastside News

The 1960s were a decade of change, including the Civil Rights Movement; the availability of the new, lightweight Princess Phone as multiple telephones became common place in homes; TVs in 95% of American homes; and the east side of Madison getting a new post office.

With all the changes the 1960s brought, it was destined that local news would experience change as well.

“After 38 years of continuous publication under direction of its publisher and founder, Marshall F. Browne, the East Side News was sold this week to two experienced newspaper men of the Madison area,” The July 26, 1962, East Side News announced.

Browne was not ready to get rid of his printing business though — which was used to produce East Side News — so the new publishers, Robert J. Doyle and James R. Hickey would have to find a new printer.

With new publishers, East Side News would get a new style.

“The reason for the new dress is that the East Side News will be produced in a new way. For centuries, newspapers have been printed by inking raised metal letters and pressing them against the paper. ... The new way, being adopted by many community newspapers, is based on photography and requires no metal type at all,” Doyle wrote on the front page of the Aug. 2, 1962, East Side News.

East Side News now had photos on every page, unlike previous years where you might see four photos in the entire paper. The new look, the addition of a comics page, and many ads showing the importance of newspapers, were an attempt to gain a new audience and more readers.

Though the newspaper was looking the best it had ever looked, internally it was not going well. After less than a year of the new format, East Side News would revert to a look similar to decades earlier and small page counts. This wouldn’t last very long either. East Side News would publish its last issue — again under new ownership — Dec. 5, 1963.

Newsletters fill the void

One thing that seems certain, the east side likes to stay informed. So after the demise of the original East Side News, the Atwood Community House (forerunner to Goodman Community Center) started distributing newsletters. While information on when this began is not clear and examples have been hard to obtain, by November 1974 Atwood Action was being produced.

Atwood Action newsletter
The cover of the November 1974 Atwood Action.

Atwood Action was bulk mailed monthly and typed on standard copy paper. It’s content was a mix of notes on Atwood House programs and neighborhood news. The November 1974 edition had a large write up on a contentious neighborhood meeting on what to do with St. Bernard’s closed convent and a profile of Sid Boyum. There were a few ads created with the typewriter too.

Since this single copy is all we’ve been able to find, it’s not known to us how many and how long Atwood Action was published. But at some point it did end.

The next newsletter attempt was Atwood’s Alive in 1976. Again, it was typed with hand drawn ads. It was produced as a collaboration between Atwood House and the Atwood Neighborhood Association.

Neighborhood information would continue to be shared in a newsletter format until 1980. That’s when the modern era of east side news begins.

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