Welcome to the new EG News! We rolled out our new look quietly last week but now we are ready to crow about it a bit – and get your feedback!

Starting a news website is pretty easy these days. Initial costs aren’t very high and you don’t have to be all that tech savvy (especially if you have friends willing to pitch in!). But to build a local news website that will last – and that’s always been the goal here at EG News – there’s a whole lot more that needs to happen.

Most importantly, the community has to be a part of the effort. Everything flows from that: the stories and the support. 

It’s been three-plus years since EG News launched as a nonprofit (after an initial stint as an LLC in 2014-15). Our motto then was fairly simple and from the heart: All EG, all the time. We wanted to tell the stories no one else was telling, to focus in tight on what was going on in our town. 

Our mission is still to cover the heck out of East Greenwich, but with our redesign we wanted to reflect our strong focus on community. So our new tagline is “Your Community. Your Stories.”

The redesign is also a reflection of our growth over the last three years. EG News in 2020 is respected around the state and we are proud members of two national news organizations: INN (Institute for Nonprofit News) and LION (Local Independent Online News). We are also proud of our ongoing relationships with the EG Chamber of Commerce, the EG Rotary, and other civic-minded organizations in town. 

Through our editorial efforts and sponsor advertising opportunities, we promote local business. Local businesses are a huge part of EG’s identity and we feel strongly we need to support that. Case in point, when everything shut down in March because of the pandemic, EG News hurried to post a comprehensive list of restaurants doing takeout. That post was one of the most clicked on for several weeks in a row and is among the top five posts in terms of clicks over the past year. 

We remain committed to covering all the news about schools and local government. Especially now, during the pandemic, we can’t report enough about what’s happening with our schools. We were happy to be able to provide a video tour of Eldredge last week, just days before students would be streaming into the building. 

Covering town government also remains a major focus for EG News. Let’s face it, not everyone wants to read the latest budget story. But we know those are the stories that hold our government accountable to its residents. It matters and we will be there for you. 

We are thrilled so many EGHS students have chosen to write for EG News. What a remarkable bunch of young people! And we love the stories some of our more veteran local residents want to tell, especially Bruce Mastracchio and Alan Clarke, who both recall us to earlier moments in our town’s long history. Recently, we’ve heard from a newer EGHS alum, Catherine Streich, about the history of Black residents of our town. We will be posting more of her work in coming days.  

As always, EG News is free. But, that’s where we look to you, our community, for support. As a 501(c)(3), we rely on you to pitch in – to give what you can to support our mission of providing local, independent news about our town. And to support those businesses that sponsor EG News. 

Let us know what you think about our new look. Tell us what stories you like best and what we could do better. Most importantly, keep reading. See you around town!

– Elizabeth F. McNamara, Editor

Help out today by making a donation online (below), or putting your donation in the mail: EG News, 18 Prospect St., E.G., RI 02818. Thanks!