Giving a voice to local news for many years

This week I conclude a review of my 37-year history of being publisher of this newspaper with a column of why it is important to have a local newspaper in a community. It is obvious that local newspapers keep readers up to date on their own communities.

Don Estep is publisher of the News Journal.

Not only does our newspaper benefit readers, but it also benefits local businesses. We offer an affordable way of informing the readers of the benefits coming from local businesses. I must admit that it was better 37 years ago to fill our newspaper with ads than it is today. Due to Amazon and big box stores many businesses have closed their doors.

Local publications play a key role in both informing communities like ours and promoting civic engagement among community members. Newspapers like ours strengthen our community. Local news is an essential lever to a healthy democracy; it helps our area citizens understand what’s at stake in local elections and equips the people to get involved in the process.

Local news is our most trusted source of information. Our newspaper provides an understanding of what is happening in our city halls, schools and businesses. We give a voice to what otherwise would go unheard.

Without a local newspaper we would only have misinformation through social networks. We are here to strengthen our community with reliable information. “Reliable” is the best word to use because we have trained journalists to hear all sides of a story, search out its truthfulness and focus on accuracy.

I could go on and on about the reasons we need a local newspaper, but what I have written gives you enough understanding of why a local newspaper is needed.

I am most grateful for the support we have been given during my 37 years as the publisher. Our core readership has remained strong, strong enough that we have four times as many subscribers as our local competitor. As for advertising, we still have many good advertisers that believe in buying and advertising locally.

So much has changed since 1987 when I started here, but one thing has remained the same; we still have as much local news coverage as ever. Thank you for your support. We look foward to many more years of providing the best news coverage in this area.