Community journalism can be the heartbeat of a town.
A community journalist can amplify local voices, inform and engage community members in decision making, hold local leaders accountable and preserve the stories that make a town unique.
Community journalism is the foundation laid by the Leader’s founders in 1994. Since that time, three editors – Patrick Martin, Peggy Bess and Kim Robertson – have encouraged and inspired dozens of reporters and photographers to inform, engage and sometimes entertain Jefferson County readers.
Robertson, who recently retired after 26 years at the Leader, illustrates just how passionate and devoted the Leader and its staff are to its readers and communities.
In her farewell column last week, she shared how she saw her job as a calling to help inform and educate her fellow community members by providing them with news to make their lives easier and even to entertain them.
She and her predecessors have left some big shoes to fill.
I look forward to building upon that foundation with the incredibly skilled and passionate community journalists who now call the Leader home.
The mission of community journalism is one I have pursued since graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism more than 40 years ago. My first job out of J-school was at a paper just down the road from Festus. My reporting and editing job at the Daily Journal in Flat River, now Park Hills, planted a seed that grew and flourished later in the newsrooms of the Joplin Globe and most recently the Jefferson City News Tribune.
In those newsrooms, I saw firsthand how strong community journalism can strengthen democracy at its roots. When people are informed about local issues, they are more likely to participate in voting, attend town meetings, volunteer and engage in meaningful dialogue. A well-informed community is not only empowered but also more resilient in facing challenges. And newspapers, like the Leader, are uniquely positioned to serve as a marketplace of ideas where we all have a voice in our community’s future.
But let’s be honest, community journalism faces significant hurdles today. Financial struggles have forced many small newspapers to close, resulting in what researchers call “news deserts” — areas where residents lack access to reliable local news sources. The shift to digital platforms has also been a double-edged sword for newspapers: while it expands reach, it often reduces revenue from advertising.
Since its founding in 1994, the Leader has provided free, direct-mail quality newspapers thanks to the local businesses who have purchased advertising in those editions. But we all know retail businesses have come under pressure from online competitors, and fewer brick-and-mortar stores means fewer retail advertisers to support the local newspaper. In recent years, we have begun asking individual readers to step up and invest in the community journalism that arrives weekly in their mailboxes.
Some might argue that social media, such as Facebook, Twitter or Reddit, can replace newspapers as reliable local news sources, but I would strongly disagree, suggesting that social media often provides a myopic view of our community. The ever-changing algorithms of social media deliver to you only things you believe and don’t consider or entertain alternative thoughts that might stretch your understanding and foster empathy, compassion and sense of community. A social media environment tends to either pull you together as a group or exile you.
I am reminded almost daily by readers that this paper is a treasure in the community. We all have a stake in the life of this valuable community resource — whether you read it in paper form, on your desktop, on your tablet or on your phone.
We value our special relationship with the community, and we want to continue to grow it with you, our loyal readers.
In March, we will be asking you to support the community journalism we do. We are grateful for every donation you have made in the past or will make this year. Thanks to your support, either through a financial contribution or even encouraging words, the Leader will continue to shed light and pursue important stories that can change the course of our communities.
We welcome your story ideas, tips and suggestions. Feel free to email us at news@myleaderpaper.com with those story ideas and suggestions. And you can always share your thoughts and questions with me at garyc@myleaderpaper.com.
Gary Castor is editor of Leader Publications. He can be reached by email at garyc@myleaderpaper.com or by phone at 636-931-7560.