Community newspapers inform, educate and serve

By Lisa Shapiro

Staff Writer,

Sitting here at my desk daily at the Jackson County Herald-Tribune for a little more than a year has been a privilege. I hope my writing has made some impact on the readers. I try my best to inform the readers of important issues and entertain them as well with feature stories.

I’ve read comments at the end of articles online from other media outlets and I’ve noticed some harsh words said about journalists, some of which were about the media trying to rack up a profit. I take that to offense because that is not what my sole purpose is when writing up a story and besides if I was trying to rack up a profit I definitely wouldn’t be doing so by getting 75 cents here and there. 

I don’t want readers to think I’m here for the wrong reasons. Journalism is not a get-rich profession. Any journalism professor would tell you that and will try to encourage you to get into a different profession if you want to make real money. In fact, I could get paid much more working somewhere else but I choose not to. 

Being a journalist is a service because we record history, inform, enlighten and entertain people. We let you know what others are up to, whether it be good or bad. When people want to know what happens in their neighborhood we go out and find out for them. Sometimes people assume we know everything about what’s going on, but we don’t so it is important if someone knows something newsworthy is going on to let us know about it. 

So service is one reason why I enjoy doing it. Another reason is helping others or promoting events. Some examples are individuals who were harmed or knew someone who was affected by a traumatic experience or if there is an organization or group of individuals who are holding a fundraiser or benefit to raise money for a good cause. If I put the word out there, these individuals or groups can raise enough money for charity or receive the support they deserve to help their cause or defeat a personal challenge such as cancer or gathering supplies and other essentials needed if they lost their home in a fire. 

Another thing we do is gather information that will help people make an educated decision or choice in a specific manner such as an election or if the county court, city council, or school board brings up a controversial item on its agenda. It’s important citizens stay informed so they can make their voices be heard on the subject by voting or attending meetings and letting council members, commissioners or board members know where they stand on a subject that they feel passionate about. 

So keeping the public informed on important issues, helping or promoting and service are very important. Another reason is the publication of all that is affecting the community so that it can be kept in historical records. Individuals will use newspapers in time to find out more about their ancestry, use them to bring back memories or to look back at important events that helped shaped their lives. 

Many newspapers have gone out of print and can be only seen online. I don’t believe the country will lose their community newspapers because it is essential in having them for all of the above reasons. It may come to the point to where all newspapers go online, but the newspaper industry will still have a presence.