By Guy Chapman – Navarro County Gazette
Yes We Can
In a statement that will likely come as a surprise to no one, it’s challenging being a journalist these last few years.
World news has been more polarizing than ever. Depending on who you speak to, the results of what’s been going on is either “Wonderful” or “Terrible,” with not much room in between. When I worked with the Daily Sun, I chose to focus on local and more positive based news. When the Gazette began in 2020, that was still the goal. Keep it local. Keep people informed. Try to keep it positive.
I do my best with the last one, but sometimes reality creeps in.
From pandemics, to the passing of community leaders, to property damage and power losses caused by extreme weather, to incidents that cause loss of life, each story presents a unique need to ensure the narrative hits “local.” But it can’t be my story. To remain credible, I have to remain an observer of the story, not a participant. It’s not my place to tell you how I feel.
It’s why I don’t do candidate endorsements or talk politics outside of how to register, and where to vote. It’s why I don’t publicly join any causes. It’s why I don’t state my perspective anywhere on the site outside of my personal column, and even then, I tend to keep those thoughts focused on personal experiences or local events.
Sometimes, national news takes effect locally, creating stories and actions within the community. If there’s a lead, I’ll follow it. I don’t interject my personal thoughts into content. I just share what’s happened as factually as I can. Of course I have thoughts on every single event I write about. But those are mine.
The larger world and local news is undoubtedly exhausting on everyone these last few years, whether the belief is “Wonderful” or “Terrible.” I can’t back down from covering local stories regardless of who agrees with them or likes them. I know not every story is going to hit the mark. But I’ve spent two years crafting an “all access” paper, and that remains my intent.
News in general is difficult right now. It’s constantly challenging. It doesn’t always line up with our personal beliefs. And it doesn’t always tell a story we would like to hear. But my thought remains we do need to be informed on what is happening around us.
I’m just here to tell the story.
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