Please Help!
We need your help. Summer is always a slow time in The News business, with school being out, and people taking vacations, there seems to be less news in the summer.
And factor in a pandemic, and things really get scarce.
You may have noticed a thin newspaper last week. (At this writing I have no idea what this week’s paper will look like.) It happens.
Advertising drives the news…and as I said, with the summer doldrums, there isn’t a lot of advertising. Add to that, there’s not a lot of news to go in the pages the advertising pays for.
So, we need your help. Lots of people post their lives on Facebook. We, however, offer a permanent record of your happenings. Now, we really don’t want photos of your dinner, but when you run across a great recipe…why not share? Especially as we’re getting all these great summer veges in…perhaps you know a fantastic squash casserole recipe. Or maybe tomato pie. Or pickles. You name it. We’d love to share it in these pages.
Speaking of squash casserole, I have tried five different recipes so far this year…one was a hit. So, I’d love more options. But, I digress.
We have a local poet, Lisa Wood, who occasionally shares her poetry with us. I’m sure there are others out there who occasionally write poetry. When you’re particularly pleased with your writing…share it.
Betty Jean Jordan was kind enough last week to share some of her bicycling experiences. I, for one, found it very interesting. Maybe you have a hobby that you’d like to share a little information about. Send it in!
Last year, or was it the year before, we started a feature—take The News on vacation. It was a hit for quite a while. But, either no one is vacationing during the pandemic, or they aren’t taking a newspaper. So, we thought we’d change it up. If you forget your Monticello News, buy a paper where you vacation and take your photo with it. Then send it in, and share a little about your vacation.
We always like to feature your catch when you’ve had a successful day fishing…especially if you catch a whopper!
And, the same for other sports and hobbies…share the good news! People love reading about their neighbors, and since we may not associate with our neighbors a lot, what better way to share what’s happening in your life.
That brings me to my next request. If you still don’t have anything to submit, after all the ideas I’ve suggested, tell me what you would like me to explore and write about. Or maybe, Susan. Or someone.You see, we just have two writers on payroll here, and we get some assistance from “stringers”—people who are not employees, but are paid by the article.
Anyway, I’m the editor and publisher. And I’m a 60-something year old white woman who has lived in Jasper County my entire adult life.
Some of you are older than me, and hopefully there’s people younger than me reading this. Some of you have been in Jasper County all your lives, and others have recently moved here. Perhaps some of you have some ideas that I haven’t thought of.
We want to make the paper interesting. We cover most public events. We tell you what policies your elected officials are passing, debating or whatever. But, we know you also want to be entertained.
Some people enjoy the crossword puzzles we sometimes run. Others like the color pages we publish. But there’s so much more available. Let us know what you like. Drop us a line—P.O. Box 30, Monticello, GA 31064; call us, 706-468-6511, or e-mail us, info@themonticellonews.com.
We are your newspaper; help us make you happy!