Newspaper observance underscores importance of local journalists
It’s fitting that National Newspaper Week is observed in October each year in the buildup to November elections. The week, which was observed October 4-10 this year, highlights the contributions of journalists and the service of newspaper employees throughout North America.
This year in particular, those contributions stand out from the noise of politics, a pandemic and unrest gripping the nation. Citizens of local communities rely on newspapers and their branded digital platforms as trusted sources to make informed decisions and to better understand the world. A feature story about a 101-year-old voter or a photo of a youth football team helping with a food distribution event serve to help readers appreciate their neighbors and understand what makes their towns tick.
Newspapers have a relationship with their communities, with readers who welcome local reporting, advertising and opinion into their homes. Even the diversions of comics, puzzles and comment are different in print, lacking the harsh sting of memes and rancor of video clips that populate the internet.
Throughout much of this year, in the counties of southeastern Pennsylvania from rural Berks to urban Delaware County, our newspapers have worked hard to keep citizens informed about the numbers and the faces of the coronavirus pandemic.
We have reported on the concerns of health officials and the rapidly changing course of mitigation measures and orders to prevent virus’ spread. News from the hospitals of our region was reported alongside profiles of the selfless health-care workers providing care. Regulations and up-to-date information on business closings was noted alongside the tales of struggling restaurant owners.
We have been cheerleaders for small business, holding up the examples of creative ways that restaurants pivoted to takeout or patio dining; to distilleries that converted to making hand sanitizer; an online coffee business that created a blend to benefit employees, or a gift card sales blitz engineered by a business owner to aid closed businesses.
The flux in decisions about schools reopening and parents’ concerns about sports teams has demanded timely reporting about both the decisions and the fallout.
The news this year that may have the most lasting significance in our nation was the rise of social justice and calls for police reform after the death on Memorial Day of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a Black man killed in the custody of police. The towns of this region demonstrated a purposeful call to unity, chronicled by newspapers to underscore its lasting message.
The theme of this year’s National Newspaper Week was “America Needs Journalists.” David Chavern, president and CEO of News Media Alliance, noted, “We are reminded that without dedicated, hardworking journalists, many of the biggest stories of the past decade — at the global, national and local levels — would have gone untold.
“Without journalists’ passionate dedication to newsgathering and superb storytelling, we would understand so little of the world around us,” Chavern wrote.
“Journalists hold those in power accountable, and we need to support them now to ensure they can continue in this critical role, enshrined in the First Amendment. We need and trust our local journalists.”
That role has never been more important than today, with less than two weeks remaining before a national election like no other. Citizens are depending on our newspapers and digital sites to provide information about how to vote safely and securely so that everyone’s right to participate in this democracy is protected.
Local newspapers, like this one, are also the best and most complete source of information about local candidates, the state legislators and representatives to Congress who are on the ballot.
America needs journalists, and journalists need the trust of the nation and of our towns to protect our democracy. Whoever wins on Election Day, or whatever day the vote count provides the declaration of a winner, newspapers will be here to report that result. Even more important, local newspapers will be here in the days and weeks afterward to report on what that means to local people in local towns.
Support your local newspaper by subscribing in print and online. Yes, democracy really does depend on it.