The last few weeks since I have come to the Kent Reporter I have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about community journalism and what it means in the newspaper world of today.
It is not unusual to hear someone state newspapers are dead, dying or on life support. That the Internet is killing papers and soon everyone will get their news through chips in their forehead.
My belief is this – beware those who predict the future. They are usually wrong.
I remember when I was a kid a man told my dad the future of movies was over because everyone would stay home and watch TV.
That was close.
I think newspapers, and in particular the community newspaper is evolving and changing with the needs and necessity of the place it covers.
Community journalism may seem like a simple concept, but I believe there is more to it than covering public meetings, schools and crime.
I’m a believer in gumshoe reporting. You find out what is happening by going out into the community to meetings, public gatherings and all sorts of events, but that is only a start.
The goodness and grit comes out when we are on the street.
I will give you an example.
I walked into a Tukwila City Council meeting Monday while representatives from Way Back Inn were giving a presentation about their transitional housing program for homeless families. The organization raises funds to get housing for families in the midst of hard times. Way Back Inn has housing in Kent, Tukwila and Renton.
Vern Francis, a board member with Way Back Inn, told me Monday the organization served 80 families in the past year, but had to turn away 3,700.
This group will also give families money to try to help them keep their homes.
This is a story I discovered because I walked into a meeting at the right time in the right place.
It is these kind of stories that illustrate to me one of the principals of community journalism.
It you listen, the story of the community will come to you and be told, and it takes many forms, but it is essential to be present and listen.
It reminds of a statement I heard from one of the best baseball coaches and men I have ever known, Frank Osborn.
He was a high school baseball coach. Frank has a great baseball mind, and he is very preceptive judge of people and what makes them tick and tock.
He once said about coaching baseball, “The game will teach them. Give them the skills, get them to the right place and get out of the way. The game will teach them how to play.”
Community journalism has a similar task. Get to the right place, listen and the community will tell its story, and teach us.
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