Oxford Free Press celebrates community support, six months of printing
The Oxford Free Press celebrated passing the six-month mark of its weekly print edition this month and recognized volunteers and donors during a reception.
More than 100 people joined the Oxford Free Press for a reception celebrating six months of printing on Jan. 24.
The Free Press, a nonprofit newspaper which formed in June 2024, printed its first physical edition on July 12 last year. The paper is free to the public, and stories are also available online at www.oxfreepress.com.
Since its formation, the Free Press has relied on community support in the form of volunteer hours and monetary donations. To date, more than 300 households have donated to sustain our mission to keep local journalism alive in Oxford, and a team of roughly 20 volunteers helps distribute the print edition every Friday.
Retired Miami University faculty members James Rubenstein, Richard Campbell and John Skillings led efforts to create the Free Press and serve as officers on its nine-member Board of Directors. Sean Scott serves as founding editor and the only full-time staff member of the newspaper, while Macey Chamberlin serves as designer and interns from Miami contribute content each semester.
The Free Press was recently honored as Organization of the Year by the Kiwanis Club. That designation celebrates the work of the organization’s volunteer board members, columnists and distributors.
“I can’t say enough about these people,” said Bobbe Burke, who coordinates the volunteer distributors, during the reception. “They show up here every week, never a complaint. They’re smiling, they’re very friendly, and I think many of them have met people that they didn’t know before.”
Oxford Mayor Bill Snavely helps distribute the Free Press each week and also attended the reception. During his comments, he issued a proclamation declaring Jan. 24 “Oxford Free Press Day” in town and described the paper as having a “vital impact” on the community.
Sally Southard, a sustaining donor for the Free Press, encouraged others at the reception to continue to donate, advertise and speak about the paper with others in the community to ensure that it remains sustainable going forward.
“I hope in this celebration that we can carry our excitement, our joy to our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues, to the businesses that we support and say to them how important it is that we have this newspaper,” Southard said. “Your support, and that support of your friends and neighbors is incredibly important annually — I repeat, annually.”
Donations and advertisements help to offset the costs of printing, website management, staffing, equipment and other expenses associated with running the Oxford Free Press.
