Points of pride and resolutions
The past year was one of transitions.
Our country saw a new president sworn in. Starkville saw a new mayor elected and I started this latest chapter in my life at the Starkville
Daily News.
In the past 365 days, I have seen changes in our community and newsroom that make me proud to be a part of this place and time.
However, there is no time for rest as the holiday season comes to a close. There is still more work to be done and a whole new calendar year to tackle.
With that in mind, I offer up three points of pride and three resolutions to carry us into the new year.
POINTS OF PRIDE
1. Finding ways to innovate: Our team at the Starkville Daily News did some exciting things in the past year that had not been pursued in the past. We have improved our visual storytelling, namely through providing the community with an extra set of eyes by way of Facebook Live and Periscope - two utilities which are on the cutting edge of what is being done in journalism. We plan to build on this in 2018 and will only improve on it. I’m not worried about where journalism is today, rather, I lose sleep at night wondering where it is headed … and I have a staff that is 100 percent behind that philosophy. Changes are on the horizon and you can expect us to lead the way.
2. A proactive approach: Twice over the last year, the Starkville Daily News hosted political forums geared toward boosting community engagement and bridging the gap between candidates and voters, which I believe to be a crucial service offered by a community newspaper. We will work in the coming year to provide a wider range of community events on a more regular basis whether it be discussions about education or public safety - in order to improve on our role in the community and broaden the scope of what we can offer to our readers.
3. Standing our ground: Without naming specific instances, the staff of the Starkville Daily News stood up for its community in 2017, even when the opinions or facts didn’t jibe with the masses. We shied away from conspiracy theories and rumors to present the truth as we understood it. We lost readers here and there because we didn’t go full bore for one side or the other on certain issues. We will not be bullied into taking a side to appease readers, and I will have to be dragged kicking and screaming from my office before we do so. This is what I am the most proud of, because sometimes doing what’s right (and most importantly objective) isn’t necessarily the most popular action to take. We have a relatively young staff and I believe starting out several careers with this attitude is a positive signal of things to come in 2018 and beyond.
RESOLUTIONS
1. Tell the stories that matter: If you ask the Starkville Daily News staff what phrases I say the most, one would undoubtedly be that stories need to “breathe.” These are the stories that have blood, guts and a heartbeat. If a story fails to have life, it fails to resonate with the reader, so we will continue to work tirelessly to breathe life into stories to paint the most accurate picture of our community. We caught a good bit of flak in 2017 for denying the myriad event previews and pitches for free advertising from many in the community, and the content of the paper improved as a result. I will continue to stand by this philosophy going into 2018 and beyond.
2. Provide transparency and accessibility: If I could make sure one concept is understood of how I run the editorial side of the Starkville Daily News, it would be that the door is always open. So many of the problems stemming from cognitive dissonance can be resolved with a simple in-person conversation. I welcome every single reader and member of the community to come to our office in person for a cup of coffee and a conversation. Over the past year, I have been cussed up one side and down the other, told I needed to resign and that I didn’t know what I was doing - all through email or anonymous letters. God forbid you put a phone number on your email because I will call you 100 percent of the time to pick your brain about how I can improve to better appeal to what you expect from your community newspaper. We don’t pretend to know everything, but in this current political climate where media has been vilified, it has become easier than ever for those outside of the business to view us with contempt. I welcome the criticism and demand that my staff do the same instead of hiding behind the masthead of the paper.
We are members of the same community as you, and I expect us to act like it.
3. Lead the pack: With
any transition comes pains in adjustment. I admit, when I first started, our staff was young and had yet to develop the rapport needed to provide strong coverage of its community day after day. I made
sure that was the first thing addressed and we have improved on it every day since. I have had more people than I can count talk ugly to me about how things were done at the paper in the past and
I could not care less, plain and simple. I don’t dwell on what was done in the decades before I came to town because it holds no relevance to how we do things today or in the future. I believe on
Jan. 1, 2018, we are stronger than ever and continue to improve every single day - which many small town community newspapers across the country can’t say. If I don’t promise you anything
else as the executive editor of this newspaper, I can promise you we will strive to be the pinnacle of local information and the leading voice of reason in your community.