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The Lighthouse Keeper, The Beacon's Other Newsletter

The Beacon's (not so) Secret Newsletter

Board President Gary Larson and Board Member/Director of Development Ross Pruden
Board President Gary Larson and Board Member/Director of Development Ross Pruden

May 23, 2026 ¶ Issue #1

Welcome to the first issue of The Lighthouse Keeper. Let's kick it off with our first Beacon Spotlight:

Beacon spotlight

Did you know you can easily share Beacon articles?

How to Easily Share Beacon Articles

On the top right of every article is a new “Share” button. You can copy a link to paste somewhere, click the email icon to open your email app, or share the link to any social media platform. We have no paywall, so feel free to share our articles anywhere.

Step 1: Click the Share Button

Detail of an article's web page with a big red arrow highlighting the Share button.
The Share button is on every article!

Step 2: Pick your fave sharing option.

Detail of the Share button popup window to show where copy link can be found.
The Share popup has a "Copy Link", email link, or a post a link on your socials. No paywall = unrestricted sharing. :)

Who are you?

I'm Ross Pruden, the Beacon's Director of Development. I'm in charge of The Beacon's marketing and fundraising efforts, including corporate sponsorship, donation troubleshooting, reader outreach, and merchandise development (upcoming in 2026). I'm been on the board of The Beacon since May 2025 and have worked part-time at The Beacon since February 2026.

Picture of Ross Pruden, The Beacon's Director of Development.
Behind me is the famous Prometheus statue in Rockefeller Center. My dad worked 1 block from here so this picture brings back fond memories of my childhood.

What is the Lighthouse Keeper?

The Lighthouse Keeper is a smaller, less formal, and less regular newsletter where you'll get a more intimate idea of who works at The Beacon, what we're working on, and the newsletter is written exclusively by me. (Have a comment? Reply to this newsletter or email me directly at ross@jeffcobeacon.com)

While The Beacon's weekly newsletter is for getting important news recaps, The Lighthouse Keeper is more like an errant younger sibling… more commentary and personality with a touch of good-natured humor thrown in the mix. Don’t be surprised if you see an emoji or three. 🤓

Seriously, what do I get?

The Lighthouse Keeper will offer a bric-a-brac of Beacon-related info:

  • PLANS. We have many long-term plans and would love to tell you how we plan to make those plans happen.
  • POLLS. While we'd like to do some things, it's equally important to know what our readers want. The Lighthouse Keeper is your chance to give us your feedback!
  • ANNOUNCEMENTS. Information & updates on upcoming Beacon events, potential partnerships, corporate sponsorships, etc. For example, I was a featured speaker at two local events this month, but that wasn't appropriate to put in The Beacon. These kinds of updates will get posted here so you'll know before everyone else.
  • PERSONALITY. Bizarre but true facts about our staff.
  • SUPPORT. Various ways you can help The Beacon's mission—with or without donations, e.g., sharing articles!
  • FUNNIES. Occasional amusing stuff that happened on the way to publishing. Because randomness.

Here is what a typical newsletter will look like:

The Beacon in The Rhody Parade

This year marks the first time The Beacon has walked the Rhody parade and it was really fun! Over 100 groups walked down Lawrence Street and looped back around Water Street. We tried to hand out stickers to anyone yelling loudly enough. 😄

Left to right: Reporter Rachel Nutting, Board President Gary Larson, Board Member Joe Gillard, Reporter/Board Member Angela Downs, Board Member Nigel O'Shea (behind Nhatt), and Editor/Board Member Nhatt Nichols (and our mascot, Quinn)
Left to right: Reporter Rachel Nutting, Board President Gary Larson, Board Member Joe Gillard, Reporter/Board Member Angela Downs, Board Member Nigel O'Shea (behind Nhatt), and Editor/Board Member Nhatt Nichols (and our mascot, Quinn)

Upcoming Events

The Beacon is hosting some fun events in the couple of months:

  • UPTOWN PUB TRIVIA NIGHT: One Monday night in May or June, The Beacon is hosting a Trivia night. Sharpen your pencils—we'll have some good trivia to test your knowledge! Date TBA/8PM–9PM.
  • STRANGE DAYS GAME NIGHT: Thursdays are pretty quiet, so The Beacon will be picking a date soon to go full detective (or some game vaguely related to journalism). Date/time TBA.
  • POURHOUSE BEACON BEERS: On June 11, The Beacon will be having some brews behind our big banner (that's accidental alliteration, truly). Come chat with us! June 11/time TBA.

Whom is The Lighthouse Keeper for?

We started this newsletter for our donors... but it goes against The Beacon's mission of inclusion to paywall any of our content, so anyone can subscribe! If you already get our weekly newsletter, you don't have to be a donor to want to know more about who we are and what we do every day, right?

How often will I get it?

I’m aiming for at least 1–2 times a month. We’ll see. I’m unpredictable like that.

How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe?

Subscribing is a 3 step process BUT we're not going to subscribe anyone automatically—we're adding in some friction to ensure everyone who subscribes really wants to subscribe. Also, we think it helps you to understand how to subscribe and unsubscribe from email-related stuff... It's a crazy world out there with a gajillion passwords, so we're trying to lighten that load.

To subscribe, follow the screenshots below. If you ever want to unsubscribe, just do the reverse.

Step 1: Log in and click the Account button

Closeup with red arrow highlighting where the Account button can be found on any of the Beacon's web page.

Step 2: Click "Manage" under Email Preferences

Detail of Account popup with big red arrow pointing at the Manage button to show where the Manage button for newsletter subscriptions.

Step 3: Click the Toggle Switch to Subscribe

Detail of the Newsletter subscriptions page where users can subscribe or unsubscribe to The Lighthouse Keeper.
A useful screen to remember, amirite?

Where are your past newsletters?

They will all live on our website: go to jeffcobeacon.com/lighthouse to see all past newsletters. (As an aside, each newsletter will have a sequential trailing number, e.g., jeffcobeacon.com/lighthouse-001)