Wednesday, August 25, 1999
Forest Park paper ends run
Clarks gave residents an open forum
BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FOREST PARK — Bob Clark has worn many hats in his 81 years, and he's about to hang up his most recent.
For more than two years this Forest Park resident, along with his wife, Mary Ann, has published, edited and distributed a local neighborhood newspaper, The Forest Park Reporter.
However, because of financial difficulties, the Clarks decided that the August edition will be the newspaper's last.
“My hope is that the citi zens learned something,” Mr. Clark said. “That's why we started (the paper) — to inform in a reliable and credible medium.”
The Reporter was started in 1997 by the Clarks using fees paid by advertisers and donations from private citizens.
But as time went on, private donations became harder to come by, and the couple had to subsidize some of the issues from their own pockets.
News of the Clarks' decision surprised many readers including some members of council.
Councilman Jim Lawler, in particular, lauded the couple for their efforts to inform Forest Park residents.
“It will definitely be missed,” he said during council's Aug. 23 meeting.
The Clarks have impressed many with their willingness to get involved.
“At a time in their lives when they should be sitting back and reading somebody else's writing, they're writing themselves,” said Roy Holmes, a Forest Park resident and avid reader of The Reporter.
“It covered local issues more thoroughly than a regional paper. That's something that a small community benefits from greatly. It will definitely be missed, but I wouldn't be surprised if somebody didn't come along and fill that gap,” he added.
The Reporter had a circulation of about 12,000, was free and was published every five weeks.
Mr. Clark, who began his professional life as a physics professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is a licensed pilot who has also worked as a life insurance underwriter.
“I've always been interested in organizations and government and how things work,” he said.
The Reporter did not have a reporting staff. It was filled with submissions from residents. Nothing was published unless the writer signed his or her name.
Both Bob and Mary Ann Clark said they could not have produced the paper without the help of Barbara Guckiean, owner of a secretarial service in Forest Park.
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