StoryBoard 30

“The Heights has about ten percent of Memphis’s vacant and blighted structures. Addressing this was identified as a priority, but what was realized was that addressing one housing project at a time probably was not going to affect the kind of community development that the neighborhood wanted to see."

“‘We rise by lifting others‘ is our motto… So we took our cues from cities that had been successful in revitalizing challenging areas like this one...

“What we found was that market forces tended to favor growth within the geographic center of the city, from downtown to the eastern edge of the city along the Poplar corridor… and it left out a lot of areas of the city that otherwise would not see much activity. This was dissatisfying for everyone, and though we’re excited about growth, we want it to extend to all areas of the city, including Frayser and Raleigh and Hickory Hill. Memphis 3...

'“Over the years, we’ve taken artists who may know each other, may have played with each other 20-30 years ago, and it’s sort of a reunion. I remember being backstage last year when Dave Bromberg and Tom Chapin – at one point they were both in the New York music scene – and they were saying ‘ya remember when we played the Village Gate?’ Or to see Richie Havens hugging Odetta … just so many stories...

“We all want this place to be a better place. And we have something we can bring some instruction to, guidance to, some exposure to … And how we participate in our community is very important to us. As Playhouse does well the ballet does well, as the ballet does well the opera does well. It pervades throughout. We’re very proud of the fact that we have such a wonderful core group of artists in our city...

“We (originally) called it Memphis Spillit Center Stage, and we curated the stories. We had people invited to come up and tell their stories, and they had ten minutes to tell their story. Sometimes you have to have an audience to understand what ‘your’ story is – it’s not a monologue, it’s a dialog where only one person is speaking, and one has to relate. Everyone has a shared moment, but it’s really about connecting...

“They say a person dies twice. The first when you leave this mortal plain, but the second time when the very last person who knew your story dies. What we try to do (as historians and storytellers) is to keep peoples’ stories alive. It’s up to us to pass them along. You know, not everybody is going to sit down and read a 400-page book, but give them a good story, pass it on, and then the story becomes theirs. And then they pass it along...

“On a whim I helped some friends produce a movie, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, that led to me co-founding a production company. We produced six feature films – and that’s what led to me seeking out Indie Memphis, volunteering, eventually joining the board, and I got hooked. This was my favorite event. . . I feel so lucky to be director, because this was literally my most favorite thing in Memphis...

“She made me feel like I was the most special person in world. She was golden, with an ephemeral, unassuming charm. She was also direct and uncompromising. I recall complaining at the coffee stand about something trivial having to do with my appearance… and Mary immediately shot back with ‘Now you must say something nice about yourself.’ She insisted absolutely that I say at least one positive thing about myself. It’s as though she didn’t want anyone speaking ill of her new friend...

Host Mark Fleischer sat down with Eric Barnes, Publisher & CEO of The Daily Memphian, on the occasion of the digital newspaper’s first anniversary, to talk about the genesis of what is already one of the largest locally focused digital papers in the country. “We found this mix of veterans and twenty-somethings out of journalism school,” said Eric, “who can (quickly turn around a story) and also have a different perspective, and everyone brings their own perspective to a story.”

Host Mark Fleischer sat down with Anna Traverse, new CEO of Contemporary Media, Inc. to discuss the ever-shifting landscape of today’s print media and local journalism.

Already in her short tenure she has had to deal with shifts in media advertising and reading habits, to the scheduled end of free publication distribution by Kroger Inc. in our local Kroger stores, and to a controversial Memphis Magazine cover...