HOT PURSUIT
The recent reporting of a sex abuse scandal at Christian Family Church in Owatonna has stirred up many emotions throughout the community.
If you’re not familiar with the story, a former youth pastor has been charged with sexually abusing a minor while working at the church. What’s even worse we’re learning the pastors of the church may have been aware of the allegations and did nothing about them. Our coverage has also opened some major questions about the finances of the church. Without going into detail, let’s just say we’re not done reporting this story.
We have never received as much response from readers about a particular story as we have with this one. The most thought-provoking response we received touches on the very core of our existence. “These are very gutsy articles for your newspaper to publish, and they are exactly why local journalism is so dang important,” the reader wrote. “We just can’t lose this local journalism.”
Sadly, many parts of our country have lost local newspapers and have become what’s referred to as “news deserts.” A news desert is a community, mostly in rural areas, with limited access to the sort of credible and comprehensive news and information that feeds democracy at the grassroots level. Research shows that more than half of all U.S. counties now have no access or very limited access to local news.
Since 2005, the U.S. has lost nearly 2,900 newspapers. The loss of local newspapers accelerated last year to an average of 2.5 per week, leaving more than 200 counties as “news deserts.” Models show that another 228 counties are at high risk of losing local news.
How can a news desert be prevented? The biggest way you can help is by subscribing to the local newspaper. After that, the next best thing is to encourage family, friends and others to subscribe.
The Times is going out this week to nearly every household in Steele County to allow us to introduce our top-notch product to people who, for whatever reason, haven’t subscribed yet. There are options to receive the traditional printed paper or an electronic version on your computer or Smart phone.
We want to continue providing our readers with the local news. It’s what we do best. We have a highly talented and experienced team of journalists covering Blooming Prairie, Ellendale, Medford and Owatonna. Our team has 220 years of experience in the journalism profession. That’s highly unusual for a newspaper of our size. This is the same team that was responsible for capturing first place in General Excellence during the recent state journalism awards contest.
This year we’re aiming to up our game even more by notching the prestigious overall award given out to newspapers. It’s called the Mills Trophy for excellence in community journalism. I was lucky enough to have been part of that trophy once already—back in the mid-1980s when I was a cub reporter in high school for my hometown newspaper. My career won’t be complete until I lead the Steele County Times to winning that award.
And that brings me back to what the reader wrote regarding the church scandal. Local journalism does matter, and we all play a role in saving it. Newspapers are the source of credible and comprehensive news and information that affects the quality of life of residents. You might say it’s the vital lifeline to our lives. We provide timely information, education and awareness, community connections and perhaps most importantly, accountability and transparency.
Help us by going in hot pursuit of keeping local journalism as the heartbeat of our communities.