Saturday,
April 26,
The
ANNOTICO Report
From
scratch and against incredible odds he survived, with a current 5,000 circulation,
but still non profitable, but a labor of love.
Mr.
Mancini is to be commended for his efforts these last 10 years.
However, I
believe Mr Mancini is making two mistakes:
Mancini of Fraser had gone to work that year for an
Italian-American newspaper in
"I went to the newspaper and I said, 'Let me help.' They said, 'What do you know about newspapers?' I said, 'Let me show you. In two months if I not help you and show you what I can do, you tell me good-bye, so long.' "
Within weeks, Mancini, a builder by trade, had become a regular contributor of news reports and the generator of many new distribution sites for the paper.
"I was writing social, political, cultural articles," Mancini, now 72, recalled of his newfound passion. "I was challenging public servants, questioning decisions."
When he started working on a potentially damaging
story about an Italian-American politician in northern
"They called me one day and said, 'You're making waves.' I said, 'That's what a newspaper is supposed to do.' They said, 'They're our friends.' I said, 'It's our job to keep the citizens informed,' and I said, 'They are also my friends, but they're in public office.' "
They told him to get his own newspaper.
And that he did.
Within weeks that same year -- now nearly 10 years ago -- he started Il Giornale Italiano, Italian for "the Italian News."
One of his first steps in starting a newspaper, which he would publish from top to bottom, was meeting with a friend to inquire about a computer and other tools of the trade.
"He said, 'You're nuts.' I said, 'We established I'm nuts; give me what I need.' "
"I spent days and nights, all my waking time away from work" as a builder. "Three weeks later I had a newspaper on the street."
Il Giornale Italiano is
still on the streets. Each month 5,000 copies are delivered to Italian-related
businesses in metro
The father of two children, now grown, started the paper at a time when free newspapers weren't as commonplace as today. The paper is written almost completely in Italian.
It's tabloid-sized. There are stories on subjects such
as changes to Italian law that would affect residential property owned by
Italian-Americans and financial assistance from the Italian government that is
available to Italians and Italian-Americans living in the
"I thought people should know this money is there. I pressed the point. I kept making waves."
He knew his paper was read when the Italian consulate
in
Visits and calls to the consulate's office, which is on Griswold and Jefferson downtown, are a regular part of Mancini's reporting beat.
He considers himself a civic journalist and wants to be a contributor to the community at large.
To that end, he offers two free citizenship classes each year at the local library. The next one is in March. He also is trying to convince Italian-American young people to pursue journalism.
"I am trying to get young kids involved," he said. "We are not represented in journalism."
The paper runs ads, too; many of them run repeatedly but are not paid for by the advertiser each time.
"I'm losing money. Most of the ads don't pay.... At the end of the month the printer still has to be paid."
It costs him $710 a month to print it. That does not include his own time and labor. He also delivers the papers.
"My wife says, 'Stop it.' I can't.
"You know it's a lot of work, but I love when the people respond and I see I can make a difference.
"It justifies the time and money."
Mancini lives with his wife, Maria, in the home he built in 1972. When he started his one-man newspaper, he was still working as a builder. A few years later he retired and made it a full-time pursuit.
"One day a lady called about a year back. She was asking a lot of questions. No accent. No broken English. Perfect English. I said, 'Who are you?' "
She was from the Immigration and Naturalization Service and said they had learned of his newspaper and wanted to put him on their list of stakeholders in the Italian-American community in case they needed assistance with that community.
"To me it's fascinating," he said. "Some people are recognizing it."
Mancini said he was contacted two months ago by a
He shipped them and still does, and word keeps spreading like that.
"I hope some people there will start their own
Italian-American newspaper," he said. "More information, more
participation equals better citizens." The paper is reported, written,
designed and laid out in an office in a bedroom in his home on
There are two computers, a printer, a scanner. Many newspapers and books and tools of the trade are all around -- including wall-to-wall wires holding clipped-up pages of the January issue.
"This is just a room. This shows you how a simple citizen can work to make a difference."
Mancini and his wife moved to the
"I saw here more opportunity. ... People had more respect for the fellow human."
He makes it clear he loves
Wanting more Italian immigrants to maintain their link to their homeland was what convinced him to start the paper.
"There was a lack of information. There was a disconnection from the culture. I said we have to do better," he said. "We should all be informed."
He goes on to mention the resignation the day before of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi following a no-confidence vote from the Italian senate -- a story he will bring to readers.
He also was at a stage in his life when he felt he should do something more altruistic, more meaningful.
"I had a struggle for a long time. I was finally making good money. Finally when I felt successful I started to look around, get involved more with the community. I saw it was a loose community."
He wanted to "invest my time to bring it together.
"I said this has got to be a field where I can make a difference."
Though Mancini believes in good, old-fashioned newspapering, he will soon be expected to drop his cut-and-paste method of laying out the paper and prepare it on software for the printer. He is trying to figure out how to pay for it and convince his wife to make the investment in a new computer, software and training.
"I am the last of the breed," he said. "But I want to keep on making waves."
KIM NORTH SHINE can be reached at 313-223-4557 or at kshine@freepress.com.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080203/CFP05/802030471
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