The local newspaper in my hometown was, for want of a better word, local. The newspaper was much more than a newspaper, it was an institution and a part of our daily lives. There was community information in the newspaper that could be found no where else. Good information, the kind that provides people with what they need to make decisions. Those decisions were, and still are, centered in the desire to make a better life. The newspaper could be trusted to report the news that mattered.
Sports was and still is my favorite section. There was, over the course of time, a bit of news and information for almost every interest one may have. The newspaper appealed, in that sense, to everybody. Some loved it and some did not, but almost everyone read it and talked about what they read.
The newspaper provided local businesses a very effective end efficient method to deliver their marketing messages to their best potential customers. These advertisers could talk to their market using a vehicle that delivered, literally and figuratively.
These realities are indisputable.
What is also indisputable is that the newspaper held politicians and business people and citizens accountable. The news-hounds would aggressively go after anyone who was suspected or actually charged with wrong doing.
The questions we all need to answer is who, that can be trusted, is going to continue this vital service if newspapers do not. Make no mistake, if there is not a means, with a commitment, to hold people accountable and bring to the light the wrong doings, and also illuminate that the accused did nothing wrong, the places we now live will look a lot different, without newspapers, than they do today.
"We are the Constant" and, unless someone-else wants this responsibility, we need to trust and support the local newspaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment