A couple weeks ago I did a story on the city of Columbia receiving the Public Safety Award. The city will not receive the award until next week’s Mississippi Municipal League conference, but the award was already announced.
Why did I do a story on the award when the city has not received it yet? The answer is simple: I am very proud of our city. Mayor Justin McKenzie, Police Chief Michael Kelly, the Board of Aldermen and all the city workers have been putting a lot of time and effort to make our city a better place. They are doing a great job and deserve the extra pats on the back.
However there is another group of individuals receiving awards today. Editor/Publisher Charlie Smith, Sports Editor Joshua Campbell and Production Manager Wright Nichols are receiving awards in the Mississippi Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest. As of press time, we do not know which or how many awards each will receive, we just know they are bringing some back.
Smith is giving me a chance as the managing editor, something I really appreciate. I hope he, Emmerich Newspapers and my community will be proud with my work. Campbell writes sports like no other. His sports jargon is like no other yet makes the stories very interesting to read. Nichols can more with graphics than just about anyone I have seen, and he loves doing it.
In a day and age of instant access and social media why are the C-P and other newspapers important? There are definitely reasons.
An example happened a few weeks ago. I was in a store where an incident had just taken place. I became aware of it when a fellow shopper stopped and told me “what happened.” A few minutes later I was talking to the store manager who showed me a post on a social media site about the incident and it was different than what the shopper had told me. Of course that post on social media was shared repeatedly. In the end, what really happened was nothing like I was first told or shared on social media.
Another danger that happens on social media is jumping to conclusions. How many of us read a post of a bad experience at a store or restaurant and because it outrages us, we share it over and over. I cannot help but wonder how many places were put out of business because of this practice.
That brings me back to the relevancy of a newspaper. Unless like social media and the instant news, respectable journalists like my co-workers and I double check the facts. Sometimes even triple check. We want to present the facts to allow you to make the decision on what is referenced in the story.
We look at all the factors as much as we can so you can receive the correct information. So while the information is not immediate like on social media, you can rest assured the information is accurate and fair unlike social media. When we do make mistakes, we own up to it and publicly correct them.
Yes, I am very proud of our officials in this city for all of their hard work and dedication. It is showing and again congratulations for the Public Safety Award.
Our award-winning staff at the C-P has also worked hard and are dedicated and the hard work is showing off. We work hard so you our readers can have a newspaper you can enjoy and be informed with the best information possible. Truth be known the work here at the C-P is not for any award or hopes for an award. It is done because this is our job, this is our county and we want to see Marion County thrive. Our part in this equation is making sure a good solid newspaper is produced for our readers to read. Charlie, Josh and Wright let me be the first one to go ahead and congratulate you on a job well done. You three deserve it.
Susan Amundson is managing editor of The Columbian-Progress. She may be reached at (601) 736-2611.
