I appreciated The Saratogian's positive reply to my post from last week encouraging them to write more editorials. Last night the Saratogian tweeted "@dmdefed Thanks for the praise (and the push) on our editorials this week, here's the latest: http://saratogian.com/articles/2012/01/21/opinion/doc4f1b632704ccc412802811.txt."
This was a link to the Saratogian's Sunday editorial about the mess at the Saratoga Housing Authority. It was not only well written - but appropriately hard hitting too! I like to see the Saratogian taking a lead in the community, and this editorial was a great example of that.
Hi Dan, I agree with you on the importance of editorials. I can get "news" from any number of sources, it's the context and perspective that comes from editorial/opinion pieces that gives a local paper like the Saratogian an important role in the community, and it's one of the main reasons why I am a Saratogian subscriber. Good for you for pushing.
Posted by: Jeff Farbaniec | January 23, 2012 at 12:13 PM
Hey Jeff thanks for the input and accolade! Take care.
Dan
Posted by: Dan | January 23, 2012 at 10:34 PM
It's interesting, Dan, that the newspapers of old had many editorials about what their opinion of the current events was. They wrote articles about the 'facts' and then editorialized their opinion about the 'facts.' Then, for some strange reason, newspapers got worried about 'bias' in their reporting, and stopped doing as many editorials, for fear that they were not 'balanced' in their reporting. Readership has declined. With bloggers that blog on current events, it's all opinion and the amount of interest our local bloggers get is amazing. The papers are finally realizing (again) that people will turn to them when 'facts' are reported, but will turn to them even more when a good bit of opinion is thrown into the mix.
Posted by: Matthew | January 24, 2012 at 10:52 PM
Well stated Matt. Not only do we appreciate the opinion of the local newspaper, but some communities need it. The local newspaper can be a powerful force and can push the politicians, business community, and other local entities to do the right thing. The latest editorial about the Housing Authority Director is a good example, and I'd like to see The Saratogian get out on the lead of a few issues. Thanks for commenting.
Posted by: Dan | January 25, 2012 at 07:07 PM
The Post-Star still does pretty regular editorials, unfortunately almost all of them are anti-local government or public school rants.
Posted by: Rob | January 26, 2012 at 10:27 AM