Hello Brown County Democrat readers, and greetings from Dave Stafford. It is as a privilege to serve as your new community editor. I am thrilled about this opportunity, and I look forward from hearing from you. We have got a lot to talk about.
You may have seen my wife, Denise, and me around town since we moved to Nashville a little more than three years ago. Like any Hoosiers with a lick of sense, we have loved this place since our first visits way back when.
Living here, you get a different feel for things than the day trippers, weekenders and vacationers who, to our good fortune, come here and spend their money.
“Brown County’s changed,” I sometimes hear people say. And I’ve also heard some folks say it hasn’t changed enough.
In a way, isn’t that tension a hallmark of what makes this the special place it is? We tend to understand that growth, development and change all have their place. But plenty of people also will insist that place ain’t Brown County if it means compromising the peaceful valley’s soul: its rugged natural beauty and relaxing way of life.
My agenda, such as I have any, is to publish a newspaper and a website that informs, entertains and serves our readers. On our best days, we also aspire to surprise and delight you with the work we publish.
We are in the storytelling business, and if you’ve got a story to tell, we’d love to hear it and share it with our readers. Contact me at [email protected] or reporter Dakota Bruton at @bcdemocrat.com, and let’s talk.
I’ll share a personal story. Back when I was a student at Southport High School in Indianapolis 40-some years ago, a well-meaning adult asked me where I saw myself as an adult. Like a reflex, my response was “editor of a small-town newspaper.”
His reflex was a frown. “You know,” he said, “that’s a dying industry.”
Well, yes … and no.
I’ve worked as a newspaper reporter or editor for about 38 years, from small weeklies to major big-city dailies. Everyone knows the newspaper business has struggled and declined over recent decades. It’s been tough.
But I also like to think I’ve learned some things during this time.
It seems to me that we are only a dying industry if we fail to provide readers, subscribers and, yes, advertisers, a product that they believe is worth their time and money. In my mind, that means news they cannot get anywhere else that is responsive to their needs and relevant to them.
Is that hard work? You bet, especially when everything is just one smartphone click away.
Will we always get it right? No, we’re human. But if we get something wrong, we will correct it, on the record.
Those are a couple of our advantages, but we have others. The Brown County Democrat is vested with a long and trusted history in this community, and this community is our special interest. That is and always will be our mission and focus.
Further, I believe that, as my predecessor Tim Timmons observed to me, people in this community have a deep affection for The Brown County Democrat.
We don’t take that for granted, though, and my commitment to you is this: We will do our best every day to earn your trust and support.
Thanks for reading, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Dave Stafford is community editor at The Brown County Democrat. Contact him at [email protected].
