The Complement Evolves

By Bob Buddemeier

Summary of key points:

1. The Complement is losing one key staff member, and another is showing symptoms of burnout.
2. We have not been successful recruiting enough new participants with the skill sets needed to continue our current pattern of publication.
3. We will experiment with lightening the load by:
—–3.1. Relaxing the publication schedule – rather than posting the issue on the 7th of each month (plus or minus a day), we will probably publish approximately monthly, as personnel time and content permit.
—–3.2. Reducing regular content – if we are low on articles and/or features, we’ll put out a slimmer issue rather than scrambling to find content. Also, we may drop the calendars if they are adequately covered in MyRVM. But,
—–3.3. We will probably reintroduce the parallel “Viewpoints” department to use for longer essays, editorials, and other types of features, rather than trying to adjust length and content to the usual Complement practices. And –
4. We will continue to solicit:
—–4.1. Additional staff members interested in writing, reporting, editing, or layout and formatting (WordPress).
—–4.2. Resident content contributions: reviews, articles/essays, memoir episodes, interviews, features – almost anything well-written and interesting.
5. This will be an experiment, which will be continued (or not) as consistent with the readership we retain and the input of assistance and content we receive.

The Context:

The Complement’s first issue was in the Fall of 2020 – we’ve been in operation over 4 years (the issues from January 2021 to present are archived at https://thecomplement.info/previous-issues.).
I enjoy writing, and the whole thing began when I did a few articles for hillTopics. It wasn’t as much fun as I had hoped. The print medium meant early deadlines and specific word-counts, and the use for Marketing resulted in a relentlessly positive tone and some topics being off limits.

In addition to that, there was no campus outlet (other than RVMlist) for resident contributions, either creative, editorial or informational. Also, at that point I was involved with the Residents Preparedness Group (RPG), and frustrated by the lack of a website for information distribution.

I identified a few like-minded people, and we resolved to give it a try. After a few months of thrashing around, we managed to get our site off the ground.

Now, the members of our merry band of geriatric journalists are four years older. RPG has found a web home on the upgraded MyRVM.  I am manifesting diminished stamina, and Connie Kent has been called to a higher office (a euphemism for Residents Council, fortunately not the Ultimate Elevation). Time for a reassessment.

We consistently get 200-300 readers per month, and enough compliments (the other kind) to have a warm and fuzzy feeling occasionally. We have caused essentially no discussions (I think everybody is afraid of being labeled a complainer), but we have attracted a few good contributors, although it would be nice to have some more. We are interested in continuing our Good Works, but if possible, with less effort and more participation.

Which brings us to the Summary of Intentions that began the article. Most of it can be read rather passively, except for item 4.  Please devote your attention, and thoughtful introspection, to those subjects. I think it’s fair to say  (1) on average, we get fun and satisfaction from what we do,  (2) we will welcome new people and material, and (3) it needn’t be much work to make useful contributions.

If you have suggestions, requests — or even complaints – please let us know.
Contacts: Bob Buddemeier, Joni Johnson, Connie Kent, Reina Lopez, Diane Friedlander, Tom Conger.