In the newspaper business, mistakes are often missed until the printed edition comes out. Whether it is grammatical errors or factual incompleteness, things can get overlooked or misread during the proofing process.
Sometimes, we miss an important story altogether.
Such was the case with Profile 2018. While overall, Profile was one of the best we have ever produced, there were two absences that stood out — the Webster Parish Police Jury and the Webster Parish Library.
Both entities are doing some amazing things in our parish.
The Webster Parish Police Jury just opened its new facility inside the Courthouse Annex, formerly the Regions Bank building. The state-of-the-art offices provide more citizen access to parish government than ever before. In addition, the Parish can be more efficient in handling the needs of citizens.
This was newsworthy, and it wasn’t even mentioned.
Along the same lines, the Webster Parish Library system is growing and improving. Currently, the system is remodeling a former Walgreens in Springhill into a new library branch.
The commitment of the Webster Parish Library to provide opportunities for education, entertainment, and quality of life to our parish is worthy of a story. Sadly, it wasn’t in Profile 2018 either.
So what’s the excuse? There is none.
We should have given proper coverage to both entities in Profile 2018. I neglected to make the assignments. Therefore, the blame rests squarely on my shoulders.
Our staff worked tirelessly to pull off a great edition, and in many ways, we did just that. I would be remiss if I didn’t reiterate how well they did overall.
These two omissions, while glaring to many, do not take away from the hard work that went into Profile 2018. The “mark” was missed by me, not them.
I ask the Webster Parish Police Jury and Webster Parish Library system to accept my heartfelt apologies for these omissions, and my assurance that we will not miss the mark again.
David Specht is editor and publisher of the Minden Press-Herald.