This summer I’ve spent a lot of time on the back road to the Wilder Pageant site as Natalie is in the pageant again. If you haven’t made it this year, this is your final weekend to enjoy it.
During our many drives, we traditionally like to put on some music we both know, turn it up loud and belt it out. As Natalie says, “it’s to pump her up for rehearsal.”
While there is a lot of her music that I do not know the words to, we both love the musical Hamilton and know all the songs. Last Thursday, our tradition continued and we belted out Hamilton on our way to pageant practice.
As I drove home, my thoughts were on the news I had received that day — Jerry Johnson had closed his publications, including the Fulda Free Press/Murray County News; Nobles County Review in Adrian and the Tri-County News in Heron Lake. I’ve known Jerry for many years and I know that he had a love for the newspaper industry and his community newspapers. I’m sure this was a very difficult decision.
I also know that Jerry’s health had slowed him down in recent years and none of us are getting any younger. This industry is demanding in hours and mental capacity. Yet, it still sucks when a small-town paper closes for so many reasons.
While my head was filled with these thoughts, the final song of the musical, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?” came on. The chorus includes these words over and over. And this is a huge piece behind local journalism.
We cover a huge variety of events. Look at the front page of today’s paper — the cute photo of the kid at baseball -is part of the happy part of local journalism. Also on our front page, Per’s story on Melvin Welu, a person gone too soon. Those stories are one of the hardest parts of local journalism. Add in meetings, local stories of volunteerism, city information and more — you are finding that in your local newspaper.
We are telling your story. I received a call last week from a person trying to find information on her husband’s grandparents who passed away, including his grandfather who died in a boating accident on Lake Shetek in 1930. That is part of their family’s story. When looking for the information, they turned to the newspaper.
We are telling your story. The Marshall Independent ran a story about the papers closing and posted on Facebook. A commenter said they shouldn’t have to pay for news. Interesting, because news costs money. It costs money to pay reporters to go to meetings and events. It costs money to print the paper and mail it or maintain a website to put it online. It costs money to keep a building open, to purchase equipment. Why do we continually invest in these costs for what some think should be free?
We are telling your story. We are currently working on our special edition celebrating Tracy’s 150th year. This is a milestone that should be highlighted. However, we can’t interview those who started our community or those who brought the first church to town, the first grocery story, etc. We look back at old newspapers. While the special edition will highlight only parts of our town’s history, we are sharing the information that made Tracy what it is today.
We are telling your story. If you look it up, there are 275 newspapers in Minnesota. According to the Secretary of State website, there are over 300 newspapers registered, however, not all qualify as a legal newspaper. As of today, there are 239 registered legal newspapers on the Secretary of State website. Those newspapers are committed to sharing the stories of their communities. They know the value of what they are producing today and the importance of it for tomorrow.
They are telling your story. It’s simple really. If you don’t want the local sports covered. If you don’t want to know what your city or county government is doing with your tax money. If you don’t care what street projects are coming up, what businesses are opening or closing, or what the real, true story is behind rumors in your community, you don’t have to care. You can only worry about what is going on in your home. You cannot care about your community and those around you. You can remain oblivious to your community and the world.
But we feel that every person has a story. Every person in our community has a connection, whether you know their name or not. Our job is to tell that story. In order for local journalism to continue across Minnesota, we need people to realize how vitally important local newspapers are. If you’re still questioning, ask a community member who lost their newspaper how much they miss it.
The song goes on to say, “When my time is up, have I done enough? Will they tell my story?”
We will continue to tell as many stories as we can. We will continue to share the story of our community and the surrounding communities. And we’ll be thankful every day for the community support we receive that allows us to tell your story.
