Oct. 4-10 is National Newspaper Week, a time to recognize the role newspapers continue to play in communities across the country.
As publisher of the Minden Press-Herald, I suppose this is the week when I am expected to tell you newspapers are important.
So, I will.
But I also want to tell you why.
The Minden Press-Herald exists today because of our commitment to being local. A community newspaper is about much more than putting ink on paper.
It is about knowing what is happening in the place we call home and telling the stories of the people who live here, work here, raise their families here, worship here and help make Webster Parish what it is.
It is about the high school football player who scores the winning touchdown. The teacher who spends a career changing lives. The business owner who takes a chance on a new venture. The police officer, firefighter or first responder who answers the call when others are running in the opposite direction.
It is also about recording history as it happens.
That matters.
Today, news travels instantly. A video can go viral in seconds, and a photograph or opinion can reach thousands of people before breakfast.
I have friends who tell me they get all their news from social media. They see it there or they do not see it at all.
But what happens tomorrow? What happens 10, 20 or 50 years from now when someone wants to know what happened in Webster Parish on a particular day?
That is one of the most important roles of a local newspaper.
We chronicle the history of Webster Parish.
We do not just report the biggest stories. We document the everyday moments that, over time, become the story of a community.
With that responsibility comes accountability. We have to ask questions, listen and work to get the story right. When we make a mistake, we have to correct it.
Journalism is not always easy. It is supposed to be responsible.
The newspaper business has changed dramatically. When I was a kid, and even when I started in this business 25 years ago, the newspaper was primarily something you held in your hands.
Today, our stories are read on phones, computers and tablets. Readers have more choices than ever.
But our mission has not changed.
We are still here to report the news, tell local stories, celebrate our community and preserve the history of Webster Parish.
That is why I believe a newspaper is more than a newspaper.
It is a community record. It is a storyteller. It is a source of information. And, at its best, it is a trusted part of the community.
National Newspaper Week may recognize newspapers, but I would rather use it to recognize the people who make local journalism possible.
Our readers. Our subscribers and advertisers. Our businesses, schools, churches, civic organizations, first responders and public officials. The people who call us, email us, send photographs or simply pick up the newspaper and read it.
Thank you.
We have witnessed tremendous change in Webster Parish, and we have been here to record much of it. Businesses have opened, neighborhoods have grown and generations have come and gone.
Through it all, local news still matters.
So, during National Newspaper Week, I encourage you to support your local newspaper.
Read it. Subscribe to it. Advertise in it. Tell us your story.
When you support local journalism, you are helping preserve something that belongs to all of us: the history and story of our community.
That is what we do.
And we are proud to do it.
Randy Brown is Regional Publisher and Executive VP of Specht Newspapers, Inc.