A Message from The Bedford Citizen
There is a French term, raison d’être, that translates to “our reason for being.”
It’s a good question to occasionally ask oneself, whether you’re a person, or an online local news source. As a person it can lead to an existential crisis, but for a local online news source, pondering one’s mission is a good thing.
There have been several articles bemoaning how the world of journalism is fading, how people are getting their news more and more from Google and Facebook, and the consequences of this trend:
- How the decline of newspapers creates ‘news deserts’ around the country ~ PBS NewsHour – Jan 31, 2019 (VIDEO), and
- What happens when local news disappears? ~ The GroundTruth Project–Aug 16, 2018.
Our own hometown newspaper, the Bedford Minuteman, recently announced that they are making more cuts, in fact that their long-time, 5-town sports reporter will be no longer be covering local games. It’s a sad state of affairs, but social media, Facebook, and Google have dramatically changed the economics of local newspapers.
Once a local newspaper was an essential part of the community, but that is no longer true. One has to ask oneself, does it really matter? Well, we came across a great article that reminded us of our raison d’être:
- As newspapers shrink, the civic cost grows ~ News & Observer – Feb 3, 2019.
You’ve lost people who routinely covered town council meetings, county commissioners’ meeting – the local news that’s the lifeblood of democracy.”
~ Penny Abernathy, a professor at UNC’s School of Media and Journalism
A good reliable local news source is critical for a functioning community. As the article points out, it’s important to know not only what going on with the Border Wall and other world issues, but where you can really make a difference is in your own community. Understanding how the school committee decides things, or how the planning board works has a much greater impact on your day-to-day life. These are things that matter to you and your community.
That’s what The Citizen does; we keep you connected to the things where you can have a real impact. We are focused on our town and our community. This is our community too, we don’t have algorithms to tell us what’s important – we have conversations.
Supporting The Bedford Citizen’s raison d’être
The Bedford Citizen is a new model for how community news is delivered. It’s a new model that depends on our community getting behind our work. That is our raison d’être. We hope you agree with our mission and we hope you support us in our efforts. If you’re a local business, consider coming on as a Corporate Sponsor. If you’re an individual, consider becoming a Donor.
- To contribute, please visit The Bedford Citizen’s ‘Donate’ page at bedfordcitizen.wpengine.com/donate/
- Corporate Sponsors, please contact Gene Kalb via email at [email protected]
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