The Fayette Tribune, Oak Hill, W.Va.

Local News

October 10, 2012

Guest Column: Your newspaper

Your newspaper will be there for you

By Ron Dzwonkowski

— Your newspaper will be there for you.

A simple statement, but let’s break it down a bit.

Your newspaper ... That’s right, all yours, assembled just for you, tailored to where you live, emphasizing the things that affect you, keeping track of the people and players in your community. Your newspaper is put together by people in a newsroom that was built for you, where people work to supply information that matters to you, from the details of that crash you passed by on Tuesday to biographies of the candidates for your school board to notices of what’s on sale at your local supermarket.

...Will be there for you. Be where? On your porch, in your mail, at your convenience store and, yeah, sometimes in your bushes. But also at your township hall, inside your local police department, attending your city council meeting, watching your elections. It will be where you can’t, paying attention, keeping watch, asking questions, making the record public.

And you can take it wherever you’re going without worrying about battery life or Wi-Fi connections.

Some say newspapers are dying, that people get their news today from the Internet, TV and radio. But where do the Internet, TV and radio get their news? From the newsrooms of America’s newspapers, large and small, which still encompass the nation’s largest newsgathering force. Other information providers may add opinion, pictures or sound, but most of the time, the facts begin in the newsrooms of newspapers, where journalists are there for  you, cultivating sources, combing through records, asking tough questions.

A few generations back, TV and radio were supposed to be the death of newspapers. Instead, they were catalysts for newspapers to dig further, to offer context, analysis, perspective and storytelling that the electronic media couldn’t deliver. TV and radio didn’t kill newspapers; they made them deeper, smarter and more thoughtful.

For about a generation now, the Internet has supposedly been driving newspapers into extinction.

Nope, It’s just given their newsrooms another platform to deliver journalism that now includes videos, interactive graphics and access to informational archives built for years by... Guess which medium?

Unlike websites and bloggers, newspapers are fixtures in their communities. Most of them were around long before personal computers and smart-phone apps, chronicling life, dissecting trends and exposing things that needed some air. And unlike less-established media, their newsrooms operate with standards and ethics intended to assure the credibility of the information they deliver. They don’t just make the record; they protect it, too. It’s a responsibility, a trust, a duty.

And while newspapers and their newsrooms have always broken stories, the Internet has now enabled them to cover breaking news, too, with reporting that goes directly up on-line — just as soon as it meets those newsroom standards.

So the evolution continues.

But the mission remains the same. To be there. For you. Because it’s your newspaper.

(Dzwonkowski is associate editor for the Detroit Free Press.)

Text Only
Local News
  • coda uke Deadline June 1 for Coda Kidz

    The sound of music and children’s laughter are in the air as budding young musicians, ages 5 to 12,  discover their musical talent in the fun and innovative summer program, Coda Kidz.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Fayette working to improve disaster response

    Improving the county’s communications during a disaster is a top priority of the Fayette County Office of Emergency Services, says the agency’s new director.

    May 23, 2013

  • School projects are prioritized in Mount Hope

    Mount Hope wants a new elementary school. That much is clear. But how and whether that’s going to happen is by no means apparent at this stage in Fayette County’s effort to address its numerous aging school buildings.

    May 23, 2013

  • izzys treehouse Smilin’ and playin’ at Izzy’s Treehouse

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Two Memorial Day events planned at Huse Memorial

    For those looking to spend their Memorial Day weekend taking part in a traditional graveside ceremony, Fayetteville offers two: A candlelight vigil and a groundbreaking for a new veterans’ memorial.

    May 23, 2013

  • carrie hill Memorial Day celebration

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Manchin rep to visit Oak Hill today

    U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced his office launched its fifth “Commonsense Connections” Week Monday. Representatives from Senator Manchin’s office will make more than 95 stops across West Virginia – traveling to all 55 counties – to meet with constituents, hear their commonsense priorities and concerns, and gather their feedback.

    May 23, 2013

  • cms hannah kaley kayden CMS Social Studies Fair winners

    May 23, 2013 4 Photos

  • jennifer williamsd Williams earns degree

    Jennifer Leigh Williams of Oak Hill received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree (cum laude) from the West Virginia University Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources on Saturday, May 18 at West Virginia University Coliseum.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Honor rolls

    May 23, 2013