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About The Oglethorpe echo. (Crawford, Ga.) 1874-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2025)
Page 4 THE OGLETHORPE Echo Thursday, October 9, 2025 OPINION & COMMENTARY GUEST Columnist Local papers keep communities strong Strong communities don’t just happen. They rely on connection: Res idents knowing what’s going on, businesses reaching the cus tomers who keep them open and people having the facts to make good decisions. Local newspa pers provide that connection in ways no other source can. In today’s fractured media en vironment, trust is the rarest commodity. Confidence in the media is low. Only 18% of Amer- icans say they trust news on social plat forms, and fewer than one in four trust cable networks. But nearly two-thirds say they trust their lo cal newspaper, more than double the confi ¬ Dean Ridings able package as the news. For a small business compet ing with national chains and on- line platforms, no other channel delivers the same impact. When residents trust the paper, they trust the businesses that sup port it. The absence of a local paper leaves a mark. Voter turnout de clines. Fewer residents attend public meetings. Government oversight weakens and borrow ing costs rise. Small businesses lose their most effec tive way to reach local customers. And with out a trusted source tying things togeth er, misinformation and partisan spin spread faster, fueling confu sion and division. The opposite is true when newspapers are HALLOWEEN I HAVE AN IRRESISTIBLE URGE TO MAKE I dence placed in most other out lets. In an era when anyone can post anything online, that clarity makes newspapers stand apart. Newspapers provide the facts that keep civic life running: city budgets, school board debates and local elections that rare ly make national headlines, but matter most to daily life. They also highlight the stories that make a community feel connect ed: high school sports, neigh borhood events, new restaurants and profiles of people who make a difference. Your local newspapers have evolved to meet readers where they are: websites, mobile apps and email newsletters. What hasn’t changed are the standards. Accuracy, ethics, and accountability still guide the work. That combination of mod ern delivery and traditional in tegrity is why people continue to turn to their local paper. The same trust strengthens the local economy. Research shows consumers act on newspaper ads more than on ads delivered by TV, radio or digital platforms. People see local business adver tising as part of the same reli ¬ strong. Residents are better in formed, more engaged and more connected to each other. Busi nesses grow because they can reach customers in a trusted en vironment. Communities share a common set of facts that helps debate happen on the issues, not on whether the information is real. But this role depends on sup port. Subscriptions, advertis ing and community engagement make it possible for newspapers to continue earning the trust that communities depend on. A strong local newspaper doesn’t solve every challenge a town faces, but it makes civ ic life, local culture and the lo cal economy all work better. Healthy communities are stron ger when their local newspaper is strong. Supporting the paper is one of the most direct ways residents and businesses can invest in their own future. Dean Ridings is the ex-offi cio director of America’s News papers, a national trade associ ation representing nearly 1,700 members across the country’. THE OGLETHORPE ECHO Policies and Deadlines ■ The Oglethorpe Echo encourages readers to submit items of community interest. Submissions for community news, obituaries, classifieds, and other sections are due by Monday at 5 p.m., on a week of normal publication schedule. Holiday events often cause an earlier deadline. ■ Submissions can be mailed to: Editor, P. 0. Box 268, Lexington, Georgia 30648 or emailed to editor@ogletho- rpeecho.com, along with a name and phone number for more information. Opinion & Letter Policies ■ The Echo’s Opinion is a staff editorial expressing the views of The Echo. ■ Opinion or guest columns express the views of the writer only. ■ We encourage letters to the editor on a wide range of issues and topics. ■ Publication of any letter is subject to the discretion of the The Oglethorpe Echo. All views expressed in any letter are those of the writer. ■ Letters are subject to editing for style, grammar or libel and should be limited to 350 words. ■ All letters must be signed. Please include street ad dress and phone number for the verification of identity. Only names and city of residence will be published. ■ Letters are due by the weekly deadline of Monday at 5 p.m., on a week of normal publication schedule. Holiday events often cause an earlier deadline. ■ Letters can be mailed to: Editor, P. 0. Box 268, Lex ington, Georgia 30648 or e-mailed to editor@oglethor- peecho.com ■ Letters regarding a candidate or an issue on a ballot will not be published two weeks preceding election day. Accuracy Policy ■ The Oglethorpe Echo strives to produce error-free news reporting. When mistakes occur, it is our policy to correct them as soon as they are brought to our attention. ■ To request a correction, contact the editor at editor@ oglethorpeecho.com or 706-743-3111. Copyright No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without specific written permission of The Oglethorpe Echo. All rights reserved. Newspapers are the soul and conscience of a community Preachers and columnists are expected to say some thing. And sometimes, they repeat their messages. This is National Newspaper Week. You may recognize parts of this sermon. Flash back to 1958. I considered myself a 10-year-old busi nessman, investing my money to make mon- ey. When the 3 o’clock bell at Orange Street Elementary School rang, I jumped on my red Schwinn and pedaled as fast as I could to the back door of The Jesup Sentinel. Brian Kirby would sell to me a stack of Bill Rhoden’s weekly newspaper for a nick el each. With my basket stuffed, I would race over to shift change of Sea Island Shirt Fac tory on Cherry Street. When the ladies turned off their sewing machines, I turned my nickels into dimes be fore the ink dried on that week’s edition of lo cal news. Yes, sir. I was smit ten with being in business, the newspaper busi ness. But as life happens, I took detours. Over the next dozen years, I sampled a variety of jobs before com ing right back to where I was on my Schwinn. In 1971, thanks to Elliott Brack and Dr. Lanier Harrell (then owners of the Wayne County Press), Dink NeSmith dnesmith@ cninewspapers.com role in our democracy. And a healthy democracy must have a voice and an advocate, especially in rural Amer ica, where you and I live. I am grateful for our newspa per’s partnership with UGA’s Grady College of Jour nalism and Mass Communications. And I am adamant. I will never live in a community without a newspaper. Why? A newspaper should be the communi ty’s soul and conscience, just as it should be a mirror that reflects the good, the bad and the ugly. Regardless, people have a right to know. I believe one of the key missions of a newspaper is to shine lights into dark cor ners. The Washington Post trumpets, “De mocracy dies in the darkness.” Amen. Furthermore, the newspaper is the thread and the skill to stitch together stories that pro duce a unique quilt. And as that quilt wraps around the community, it gives us a sense of place, a smorgasbord of information, updates in the marketplace, and a forum to share ideas and opinions. Add to that, a newspa per should pro vide a spark to inspire us to do better. Hello, 2025. There is no denying that the internet and so cial media are major disrup tive competi tors to newspa pers and multi ple other busi nesses. Consid ¬ A CITY WITHOUTA NEWSPAPER IS A N CITY WITHOUT A SOUL. -Lilts A.FERM I got a chance to return to what enamored me in 1958. And for 54 years, ink has been coursing through my veins. As long as my heart is ticking, I plan to keep my keyboard clicking. If you are reading this, thank you. In the early 1980s, Ted Turner made a prediction. I heard him say, “In 10 years newspapers will be dead.” He vowed cable news would be the assassin. In his futuristic rant, he didn’t envision that cable TV would be besieged by an onslaught of technolo gy-driven options, too. Nonetheless, Ted was right. The newspapers that aren’t reinventing themselves in this surging digital revolution are being forced to unplug their presses. The Oglethorpe Echo vows to be a survivor. Why? I believe the community newspaper plays a crucial er how Amazon and e-commerce have affected tradi tional retailers. Ted made some valid points. If newspapers don’t continually reinvent themselves, they will die. But hold on. Don’t rush to write this newspaper’s obituary. There’s only one newspaper in the world that is 100% devoted to this community. You are reading it on newsprint or your screen. The Oglethorpe Echo’s commitment is to be rele vant, compelling, credible and the most complete pack age of local news and information available. And, of course, to be innovative. It’s National Newspaper Week. We thank you, our readers, advertisers and donors, for being our partners. Together, we step into the future. For more columns, visit dinknesmith.com MeETING CALENDAR Board of Education Here are the scheduled meet ings for the Board of Education in 2025. Residents are invited to at tend all meetings and work ses sions, which are held on Tuesdays. All meetings and work sessions will begin at 7 p.m.: ■ Oct. 14 ■ Nov. 4 ■ Dec. 9 Here is the work session calen dar for 2025 (there are no sched uled work sessions in June or De cember): ■ Oct. 28 ■ Nov. 18 Information about the Board of Education and Oglethorpe Coun ty School System can be found at oglethorpe.k12.ga.us. BOC Here are the scheduled meetings for the Board of Commissioners for 2025. Residents are invited to at tend all meetings, which are sched uled for 6 p.m. on the first Monday of each month, unless it falls on a holiday: ■ Nov. 3 ■ Dec. 1 Information about the Board of Commissioners can be found at |ogletliorpecountyga.gov/boc| Other upcoming meetings ■ The Maxeys City Coun cil is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14. ■ The Crawford City Coun cil is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14. ■ The Arnoldsville City Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16. ■ The Lexington City Coun cil is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13. We welcome your donations. Make checks payable to The Oglethorpe Echo Legacy, Inc. Post Office Box 268, Lexington, GA 30648 Donations are tax deductible through our 501(c)(3).
