In today’s world, it’s easy to get caught up in the negativity that seems ever-present at times. In a time when some Americans have a bumper sticker on their vehicle that actually encourages people to “Fight for the truth – punch a journalist” – yep, I’ve seen it – this can seem like a particularly tough time to be employed in the newspaper industry.
Yet, behind the scenes, there are plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about the future of news in Cherokee County.
In June, the Cherokee Scout decided to do something we had never done before – a postcard drive to encourage non-subscribers to sign up. While many offers like this struggle to earn a 1 percent return, the Scout’s was several times more successful, with 109 homes renewing their subscriptions and a whopping 571 starting a new one over the last few months.
What this tells me is more people are interested in what’s going on around them in our communities, which is good news for everyone. More engagement means more people are helping others, making a difference and shopping locally.
This also tells me that we have an obligation to make your local newspaper better than it has ever been. While we’ve been fortunate to win a lot of laurels over the years – including Best of CNI and Best Local News Coverage during Community Newspapers Inc.’s 2018 contest – we do not intend to sit on them.
Instead, we want to take it a step further. You deserve more in-depth stories about the people, places and things that most interest you. You deserve more context about the decisions that affect you. You deserve for your newspaper to be an accurate reflection of the community.
Perhaps most importantly, you deserve to be able to trust what you’re reading.
That’s a big reason why the Scout and CNI have joined forces with Trusting News, a project started by the American Press Institute and Reynolds Journalism Institute. The goal is to help educate the public about what we do and why we do it, empowering journalists to demonstrate credibility and actively earn trust.
You can learn more at trustingnews.org. The Scout already has taken several measures to ensure we have direct lines to the community, from previously having a full-time Newspaper Advisory Board to holding a complete readership survey a few years back to starting a Public Advisory Group on Facebook earlier this year. But much more is still to come as we continue to look for ways to better inform you about the place we call home.
For example, you already have an open invitation to come see anytime to discuss anything. We also are considering open house times for folks to drop in and ask questions, as well as a podcast or Facebook Live conversations to help shed more light on what we publish. Please let me know if you have an idea that would help the Scout accomplish our mission.
One more note: Remember that reporting local news is what we do. The opinions page is only a small part of the newspaper as a whole, even though it often gets the most attention, and you’re always welcome to contribute to it.
As always, thanks for reading. The best stories have yet to be told, so stay tuned.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or Twitter @daviddBstroh.
DAVID BROWN: Trust more important than awards
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