Editorial

As everyone knows, the purpose of the community newspaper is to inform. We inform our readers of positives and negatives that happen in the area.

A big part of that is a good working relationship with the local police and sheriff departments. Fortunately, this has been achieved, as most departments are more than willing to help when they can.

The same is true for city and county government. Most leaders are always willing to lend a helpful ear or provide information when it is needed.

The cooperation from these two means a lot, but there is a third party that can be a tremendous help toward getting community news to the people. That party is the citizens and readers.

A newspaper cannot possibly know about everything that is going on. This is very unfortunate as it can produce hurt feelings when an event goes uncovered. This is never intentional because no one hates to miss an event more than the newspaper.

There is an easy way for people to combat this problem. If there is an event that needs coverage pick up the phone and call. If you are not sure anyone has informed the paper of an event do not hesitate to break the silence. There is only one-way to be sure and that is to call.

The same applies for schools. Nothing makes parents and relatives happier than seeing their children in the paper. Nothing makes the paper happier than making parents and relatives happy. If there is an event at your school that seems interesting or needs coverage pick up the phone.

Informing the community goes much deeper than city or county government or who was arrested for a particular period of time. There is a lot of good news that has its place too.

In order to get this news to the people have to know it is out there. The community paper should be something people look forward to seeing their name in. It should be seen as a friend and not viewed with suspicion.

Your hometown paper works for you and in turn wants to hear about what you are doing or have to say. If we all work together we can put together a publication everyone can be proud of.

This paper, like every other paper, simply wants to keep people informed. To do that, it takes the cooperation of the public and an open line of communication. Providing a helpful, informative news source is a two way street.