I enjoyed and appreciated your editorial in last week’s Valley Sentinel. I had a very similar approach when I was an editor. Give people accurate information. Be fair. Be truthful. And assume most readers are intelligent enough to connect the dots and make up their own minds. As you know already, community journalism is time-consuming, at times agonizing and at other times rewarding.
Category: Opinion
Occasionally we are tasked with writing an editorial that is dangerous perhaps more in timing and presumption, rather than content. This is a week where we take that risk.
To be frank and open, this column was written before the polls were officially closed, with a press time thick in the middle of the evening of voting. This editorial may print and we find ourselves waking up Wednesday morning with a clear result. More likely than not, we will find ourselves waking up to a result that is and will not be clear for weeks, or months. This editorial is in response to that likely outcome.
Virtually, in person, or planning and executing hybrid models, students and educators across Wisconsin are showing up and doing the hard work. Families are making sacrifices and hard choices in the face of this pandemic. We should all take a lesson from this dedication and perseverance.
Wow—what a two weeks it has been.
The last two weeks have been a rollercoaster, uphill battle and triumph all wrapped into one, and honestly, my head is still spinning a bit. To start, the first edition of Valley Sentinel is out, and that is such a triumph. I know my job is to be a writer, but I find myself at a loss for words to express just how excited I am.
There is a difference between an editorial and a news story. There is a difference between taking a position and impartially presenting others’ positions. In an editorial, we believe our community is best served by a common sense position being taken that inspires action and fosters solutions. In a news story, it’s our duty to report on the actions that are taken, without inserting position or bias.
As a reader and writer I welcome another newspaper…Valley Sentinel. Journalism has taken undeserved punishment for years. It’s time to place blame where we think it belongs, and then to move on. I blame impatience not only among readers, but also among owners, advertisers, the newspaper industry in general.
One of our editors, while covering a health committee meeting in a neighboring county last week, encountered an example of the deeper harm not masking up can cause, in the workplace, in the community and in public service.
We wanted to take this opportunity, in our inaugural issue, to conversationally introduce Valley Sentinel to its readers and to our community. It’s been a busy couple of months, and an even busier couple of weeks. The sheer amount of outpouring support and interest from our community has been both welcome and overwhelming.
My office has received 524 contacts related to unemployment compensation claims since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic – 22 this week alone! I have heard from 221 individuals who needed help to receive their unemployment compensation, including 22 this week, and there are still several who have not received their checks!
COVID-19 has impacted us all in many ways, and through it all Wisconsin’s agricultural producers have continued to work hard to provide us with nutritious food.