How to keep yourself and others afloat during these quarantimes
Homebound: Bill Foster • Homebound: Wayne Bledsoe • Homebound: Matt Miller • Homebound: Luke Brogden • Homebound: Amelia Bartlett • Homebound: Steve Wildsmith • Homebound: Matt Rankin
For the duration of its existence (12 years and counting), BLANK Newspaper has operated according to one singular tenet: to strengthen community ties in and around Knoxville by providing coverage that highlights only the positive aspects of the city and its surrounding counties. Although this publication and everyone associated with it strive to maintain the same journalistic standards that inform the practices of the best investigative newsrooms across the nation and the world, the content that we generate is inherently different from that of our more esteemed colleagues.
Erstwhile Knoxvillian Adolph Ochs coined The New York Times’ famous slogan “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” As the editor of BLANK, I consider our goal to be to dispense all the good news that’s fit to print. It’s admittedly less lofty of an agenda, but it’s a pursuit I feel fills an important niche in the local media landscape. Besides, our friends over at Compass are doing an extraordinary job of delivering integral, in-depth daily reporting about all things concerning politics and happenings in Knoxville that, frankly, we don’t have the time, experience or resources to be able to produce. Please consider subscribing to their services, as they are well worth it.
So while we remain keenly aware of the seriousness of COVID-19, its spread and the rapidly changing/evolving situation in which we find ourselves, it remains our mission to focus our reporting efforts on what we know best: entertainment and local business developments. In the face of unprecedented social restrictions and economic turbulence, we realize that we are fairly limited in what we can encompass regarding the former. We also acknowledge that subjects like music and film may seem trivial on the surface, but we regard artistic disciplines that reinforce our collective humanity as welcome distractions and believe them to be more vital right now than ever before.
Inevitably, our short-term coverage of the latter will be heavily determined and influenced by the longevity and severity of the coronavirus’s grasp. While the reality is that even its long-term effect on local businesses may be profound, we intend to honor our core value by seeking out stories about people and companies coming up with creative solutions to the economic crunch and, cumulatively, making a positive impact on our community. Already, there are multiple examples of folks going out of their way to help others.
For instance, a faction called Service Industry Coalition Knoxville (SICK) created a GoFundMe page to take in donations for the many workers who suddenly found themselves jobless in the wake of their places of business closing in order to curb the spread of the disease. Local graphic-design firm Riot Printing Co. created a line of t-shirts celebrating these employees, with all proceeds from their sales going toward the same fund. A website popped up that randomly generates the name of a local service-industry worker along with his/her Venmo/Cash app handles so that you can tip them digitally in lieu of doing so in person. Another site is beginning to catalog those handles, as well, and allows you to search for individuals by state.
Some intrepid restauranteurs are continuing to provide comfort and sustenance during this uncertain time by making their food available for pickup and/or delivery. The Downtown Knoxville page features a comprehensive list of restaurants in the district offering both. (Included are retail establishments offering online shopping, phone orders and local shipping on goods.) National delivery services available in Knoxville include DoorDash, GrubHub and Postmates. In my experience, though, Bite Squad and Uber Eats are the most legitimate and reliable of these outfits, providing the highest level of customer service in the market. Both have drastically slashed delivery costs on orders made with local restaurants as of late. And for grocery delivery, check out GateWay, a 100 percent locally owned company.
Because of our love of local music, we devote considerable time and attention to exposing as much of it to our readers as we reasonably can. These supremely talented people are our friends and neighbors, and I’m going to make an appeal on their behalf, too – not just because our collective success depends on their viability, but also simply because they deserve it. From the musicians themselves to their labels and production teams, to the venues and their staffs and promoters … everyone in the music entertainment industry is hurting at the moment. If you’re able, please consider purchasing music via Bandcamp or merchandise directly from the artists in order to lend continuing support to their passions. And be on the lookout for streaming concert announcements; I was tuned in to a live living-room session by the wonderful Thrift Store Cowboys as I wrote the bulk of this piece.
Given the fact that we don’t want physical copies of our paper to be vectors for this extremely infectious virus and seeing as to how the vast majority of our distribution spots are closed to the public anyway, all of BLANK’s content this month will be online-only. Beginning tomorrow, this note will serve as the landing page for recommendations for music, books, films and some other things that our most frequent contributors think you should delve into during this period of self-isolation. Check back often, as we will be posting selections over the next several days. And please feel free to explore the rest of the site for both brand new and vintage content.
Finally, as we enter this indeterminate yet likely prolonged amount of time holed up in our respective abodes, remember that it is of utmost consequence to sustain good physical and mental health practices. Know that you can go outdoors to walk, hike and run. You can wave and talk to people – just as long as you maintain the recommended six feet of distance between them and you. Follow the guidelines outlined by the CDC, be careful touching surfaces and your face and just be safe in general.
Primarily, though, recognize that this is a stressful time for everyone – but that some people are more equipped to deal with the isolation than others. Reach out to people you care about. Tell them that you love them. And if you’re having trouble yourself, know that you’re not alone and that there’s always someone out there who is ready to listen. The phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Please don’t hesitate to call it if you feel like you might need help. Take care, and we’ll pull through this thing together.
Homebound: Bill Foster • Homebound: Wayne Bledsoe • Homebound: Matt Miller • Homebound: Luke Brogden • Homebound: Amelia Bartlett • Homebound: Steve Wildsmith • Homebound: Matt Rankin
