Westword Shares Spring Drive Results, Names Jennifer Robinson Director of Membership

Our first-ever spring membership drive is complete — and thanks to the generous support of our readers, we were able to raise $7,500 for our newsroom! As the industry shifts and we can no longer rely on just advertising to sustain us, we can’t tell you enough what these contributions mean. Not only that, but we have personnel news to share.

Voice Media Group is excited to announce the promotion of Jennifer Robinson to Director of Membership & Community Development.

Jenn has Texas roots. Born in Midland, she received her bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and moved to Dallas in 2002. She began her career with Voice Media Group in 2005 as an account executive for the Dallas Observer, and Jenn's passion for events and marketing quickly led her to the company’s marketing and promotions team. There she specialized in creating lifestyle events and partnership development to increase community engagement and raise brand awareness.

Over the past eighteen years, Jenn has developed and executed more than 125 lifestyle events for Voice Media Group across its four markets: Westword, Dallas Observer, Miami New Times and Phoenix New Times. Her extensive background in community engagement and relationship-building makes her the perfect fit to lead our membership program. Jenn is based at the Observer office.

I asked Jenn a few questions about her next phase of leadership:

Chelsey: What are you most excited about as you enter this role with the company?

Jenn: Everything! But I am most excited about the opportunity to engage with our members, who understand the value and importance local journalism plays in our communities.

Journalism today has ever-changing challenges. For you, why is reader support so important?

Local news publications play a key role in both informing communities and promoting engagement among community members. These members directly support the journalism we produce, and allow our newsrooms to sustain, plan and grow.

What are your immediate goals with the membership program?

Engaging with members to understand what benefits resonate most with them and developing programs to make it stronger. We recently did our first audience survey, which we learned a lot from. I'm excited to put those findings into action.

Have feedback for Jenn about our membership program? We’re listening. We want to hear from you about how we can continue to make the program stronger. Email Jenn at [email protected]. If you are a business or organization that wants to partner with us on cool perks for our members, you should reach out as well! We recently teamed up with Odell Brewing as the official beer partner of our in-office concert with Ipecac, and in December we brewed a beer with them. It was rad.

Our next members-only event is coming up on June 27, with Denver funk-rock band May Be Fern. Become a member by giving any amount to support our newsroom and snag an invite — but move quickly, as space is limited. 

As always, thank you for your continued support.