The morning brief of Upper Valley news (and weather) provided by Daybreak is entrenched as part of my morning routine. Hard to believe that Daybreak first arrived on the scene less than six months ago.
The mastermind behind Daybreak is Rob Gurwitt, a Norwich resident for 20 years and a writer and journalist for most of his working life. He kindly agreed to respond to some questions about this project. Tell me about Daybreak. What is Daybreak? Why did you start it? The idea is pretty simple: Daybreak’s a weekday-morning email newsletter that rounds up a summary of local and regional news that would interest people who live in the Upper Valley, or who live elsewhere but miss it. It’s always got the day’s weather, a quirky but substantive compilation of news items, things to do that night, and the occasional poem. What’s funny is that I started it as an experiment when I was still working at what used to be known as DailyUV: Would people be interested in a rundown from a variety of sources? Would they welcome an email like that into their inboxes? And then read it? Turns out, the answer was Yes.
Daybreak covers a lot ground each morning. How do you go about putting a daily issue together?It does cover a lot of ground, which is one of the things I like best about it. I found early on that a lot of people like reading something like this first thing in the morning. So I try to publish by 6:30 am, which means I’m up by 4:30. There’s some work I can do the night before — the weather, the events — but a lot of news doesn’t hit the web until overnight. I’ve got a decent set of Google alerts that help, and then each morning I scan about 25 sources — traditional news sites, Facebook, Reddit, other places. It would sure be easier to have helpers, but it’s just me, and in the end that’s good: I can put it together on the fly, it’s in my own voice, and it’s just me and Daybreak’s unbelievably great readers.
What kind of feedback are you getting from readers? Any feedback from the Valley News and other sources cited in Daybreak?
For the most part, feedback’s been lovely: People telling me they love it, or offering advice, or pointing me to news items and events. A lot of it runs along the lines of this email I got a little bit ago: “Daybreak has become a part of my daily routine, and I think it’s fantastic just as it is. Thanks to this, I feel so much more connected to the UV.” Haven’t heard anything from the Valley News or other pubs. And to answer a question you didn’t ask but other people have: No, I’ve got no arrangements with any publications. If they’re doing good work, I really just want Daybreak readers to know about it.
You are looking for financial support from readers. How critical is that to keeping Daybreak up and running? Yep, I started up a voluntary “support” option about a month ago. It’s been moderately successful, and it’s pretty critical. Really for two reasons. The first is that I love doing this, and it’s clear it’s struck a chord, but it takes a lot of work and I’m completely freelance, so time spent on something that doesn’t pay at all is hard to justify to my family. The other reason is that I think this is an approach that could work anywhere a good writer wants to give it a shot. I’d like it to spread. But it’s not going to unless there’s a clear path for people to make it financially sustainable.
Your profile on Daybreak says you “like telling people stuff they didn’t know.” What are some things you learned about the Upper Valley by working on Daybreak?Boy… Pretty much any issue of Daybreak will give you your answer. I think the biggest overall thing is that once you start digging, there’s a lot going on here. Except Monday nights. What is it with Monday nights? Oh, and also, not from my own work, but from Daybreak’s readers: People love living here, and they’re hungry for connectedness, neighborliness, and a friendly voice.
Where can people find Daybreak on the web? How does one get on the email list? I don’t have a website, but you can find Daybreak on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/daybreakuv/, and on HereCast at https://www.herecast.us/profile/2556. I’ll just say straight up, though, that the best experience is in your inbox. That’s what it’s designed for. To get it, just go to: https://mailchi.mp/1ad5d8c9f755/daybreak
Originally published on HereCast on July 15,2019