These last four months have been brutal to the local news cycle.
Government meetings were reduced to either Zoom or teleconference, sports were canceled and community events were put on the back-burner, as almost everyone rightly opted to practice social distancing and isolation protocols.
In what may very well be the understatement of 2020, COVID-19 has forever changed our lives. How we find the new “normal” moving forward is ultimately up to us.
That being said, as far as The Graham Star goes, the coronavirus has greatly altered the product we can deliver to you each week.
So, yes, there has been a bevy of regional and statewide coverage intertwined with local news. However, if it does not happen, we cannot write about it. If little is going on, we are not going to print anything that we cannot confirm as being accurate, but we still deeply desire the opportunity to put a new edition of The Graham Star on the rack every Wednesday afternoon.
I could not help but chuckle when I perused some of the comments made on our Facebook page last week. We shared a link to a complete story on our website, and without saying anything about the fact that they were getting free local news, a few people criticized the newspaper for not having enough local news.
As the publisher/editor of this paper, I am not oblivious to the fact that we have had fewer stories in the newspaper in recent months. However, nothing we put into print qualifies as fake news, a term that has already lost all meaning because it’s thrown around so carelessly.
As The Star enters our 66th year of existence next week, take notice of the fact that we have removed the “staff writer” ad from these pages. After being flooded with resumes, the final few candidates are being considered. Getting back to full strength will instantly improve both the selection and look of your hometown newspaper.
We are surviving this pandemic, together. It has not been easy, and it is not over yet, but I am encouraged to see things opening back up, which gives us the opportunity to, you know, report on local news.
For the dedicated readers who have kept us alive for 65 years, we thank you.
A better road lies just ahead.
Kevin Hensley is publisher/editor of The Graham Star. He can be reached by phone, 479-3383; email, editor@grahamstar.com or on Twitter @KevinHensleyCNI.