We’re all over this community.
So much so, the editor gets the question all the time when he sleeps or how often he spends time at home or in his apartment.
Journalism is an important career, and it’s one that the staff at the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun take great pride in.
Paul Rowland and Rochelle Ferguson work on handling ad requests and subscription requests and queries on a daily basis.
Nathan Countryman, Ann Gruber-Miller and Ryan Suchomel work together to cover the news and sports activities in these two thriving communities.
And let’s face it – these communities are enough to keep an editor busy without the hundreds of weekly story requests from agencies in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and other areas of the corridor who hope to get a little more reach. At the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun, our stories focus on the things happening here in Mount Vernon and Lisbon first, your county government’s bigger stories that impact you second. The faces and stories in these papers are primarily the people that make these communities their home.
Keeping tabs on what is important in this community, the good stories and also sometimes the areas that need improvement, is one of the newspaper’s most vital roles, that watchdog element of good journalism. Keeping citizens informed of what your city governments and school boards are doing, as well as informing you of the activities that are coming up in these communities at the local high schools, at Cornell College, at wherever they are being held. Of who is running for election in your local elections or things you can do to help your city and community.
This week is National Newspaper Week and we’re glad to have your support for this vital information in your community.
A recent national study conducted by the independent research firm Coda Ventures shows that 79% of Americans use local newspapers to stay informed about their communities and depend on them to feel connected.
As we’ve reported in the past, the cost for newspapers has risen in many years, which is why our subscription and newsstand rates have risen to reflect more of the cost of generating news content in this day and age.
What can you do to help sustain local journalism in the meantime? You can help in several ways:
1. Advertise your products, services or events in the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun. It’s a great way to get the word out, both in print and online.
2. Subscribe to the Sun. Your subscription helps us afford to produce local content and get it to you in a timely, convenient, and affordable way.
3. On a national level, the Community News and Small Business Support Act (HR 4756) was recently introduced in Congress. This bill would provide local newspapers with financial support for their newsroom employees, and would go a long way to providing your newspaper with support for the reporters and photographers that are sorely needed.