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PR, November 8, 2025: De Vine is born on paper

MediumPR Committee 2 min readBy PR Committee (Anne R chair)
TL;DR: The [De Vine News](/changelog-astro-public/changelog/newspaper/) newsletter is born on paper: a January launch, Katherine's template, a monthly cadence with website signup, and a deliberate lead with **spiritual principles** rather than steps "to avoid controversy" - committee squares, quarterly board updates, and a service board for open positions. The podcast stands at six recorded episodes; the Iceland Eclipse Festival fee question goes to the board.
Read the minutes →

Source: the committee’s AI-scribed minutes, provided by Christopher W from the PR Google Doc while viewer approval is still pending. Last names are initials, per PIR tradition.

In the room

Zoom troubles at the top; Lewis joined as a guest; Dave (unwell) joined remotely; the previous month’s minutes were approved.

Content strategy

  • Each edition carries step-related and general content - but Anne steered: lead with spiritual principles rather than steps, to avoid controversy; consult LitCom on the twelve spiritual principles.
  • Member stories gathered through one-on-one interviews; articles linked to the blog (Substack or the website).

Format and distribution

  • Monthly cadence; website signup rather than email distribution at first.
  • Katherine’s template matches the website’s colors; squares for the board, tech, 12-step, LitCom and PR; quarterly board updates; a service board for open positions.

The Iceland Eclipse Festival

Kansas’ application was accepted, with an attendance and camping fee of about $700. PIR, as a harm-reduction resource, typically does not pay to participate - a waiver request is to be drafted and presented to the board.

The podcast

Six episodes recorded with six guests. Music search: reaching out to Eminem’s agent for “Rock Bottom”; Katherine’s husband, an audio engineer, to review samples and possibly create a jingle. Season 2 postponed until the room is fuller.

London

A new women’s meeting launches; Anne to try an event-specific press release angle.

Next steps, as recorded

  1. Katherine: finalize the newsletter template.
  2. Anne: coordinate with Christopher and David L on implementation.
  3. Dave and Anne: develop content around the twelve spiritual principles.
  4. Dave, Kevin and David L: clean up the email database.
  5. Katherine: research distribution options.
  6. Kansas: draft the fee-waiver email for the board.
  7. Katherine’s husband: review music samples and explore a jingle.
  8. Anne: write the press release for the London women’s meeting.
  9. Add Douglas and LitCom representation to the next meeting.
  10. Hold regular brainstorming sessions.
  11. Karyn: keep GSR summaries flowing into PR.
  12. Preserve David L’s artwork continuity in the newsletter.