The Berkshire Eagle Community Coffee Klatch

Please come to the Chef’s Hat Restaurant to meet and talk with Frederic Rutberg, president of The Berkshire Eagle. Part of a series of gatherings at cafes and diners in The Berkshires called “Coffee with the President.”    The idea is to be able to talk informally about news and the community. A year ago The Eagle and sister papers in Vermont were purchased by a group of mostly local owners, returning local control after two decades of ownership by a Denver-based chain. Since then, the new owners have added news, pages, reporters, editors and arts coverage. Now they want to understand how to bring news and community information to new readers and new digital users — and they want to know what the community wants. At a time of significant turmoil in local news across the country and serious concerns about how we can continue to have a participatory democracy, it is a unique testament to the Berkshires that our main community information service is focused strongly on public service.