Oct. 1 to 7 is National Newspaper Week and it celebrates our communities, The Vernon Morning Star and our dear readers.
This annual celebration hits the nail on the head — this is exactly what community newspapers provide for the communities they serve.
People who work in community newspapers are proud of their communities and the people who live in them.
Newspaper employees also take pride in the service they provide to their readers and happily support many community events through promotions, coverage and volunteer manpower.
National Newspaper Week is a time to celebrate the role of The Vernon Morning Star.
It also serves as a reminder for those of us in the profession that what we do on a daily basis has a huge impact on the health of our communities.
We do this by introducing community members to each other through stories and promotions for their events. We write the stories and take the photos of our community members’ successes, lifestyles, needs and what they do to make their communities better.
Community newspapers do two simple but very important things for the residents of their communities. They chronicle the history of the community in a fair and accurate manner, so people can go back in time to find historical information.
Community newspapers also supply the “fridge art” for the community — the photos that are cut out of The Vernon Morning Star and put on the refrigerator door for a while. Then readers place them in a special box that will play an integral role in a graduation or wedding album years down the road.
Simply stated, community newspapers print all of the important news about their residents, including the births, deaths, crime, good news, as well as the trials and tribulations of life.
These stories are neither statistical nor impersonal, as one might find in big media reports; no, these are stories about our friends and neighbours.
We’re very proud of these stories and photos because they are something other larger media outlets cannot, or will not, do because they have lost touch with the grassroots of our society — the little folks with the big hearts who make their communities tick.
Community newspapers also supply a soapbox for people to share their opinions, and they offer promotional information about upcoming events, whether it’s through advertising, community and entertainment calendars and stories.