COLUMN: Has it already been a year?

It was one year ago, that I became what I associate myself with almost more than anything – the editor of The Weekly Observer newspaper. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but my how the 52 editions that I have presided over have blown by. 

In the same vein as the president of the United States, I feel it’s appropriate to provide a state of the newspaper column. 

Since I took over, there have been some major changes to our little newspaper. 

For my first six months as the editor, I pretty much coasted with the assurance that not too much was pliable in the workings of the paper and figured it would stay as such. Around that time, it was announced the company force two weeks of furloughs on all salaried employees. Ouch… 

Then, not too long after that, we lost our long-time office administrator, Tina Pope, as a casualty of the economic downturn within the company. Double ouch. 

When you talk about the bad news, taking what used to be done by the handful of people and making it a one person job is not fun. Although this is a symptom of the tough financial times and the new convergence of journalism, it doesn’t make it any easier to see someone go who has been a part of the paper as long as Tina was. 

It wasn’t all bad news, though. I’ve been really privileged to some great events in the area and have met some really cool people. 

While I lost a lot of Friday nights covering the Flashes, Tigers and Bears, Friday night football stands out as the most exciting and enjoyable event I was able to cover on a regular basis. Every Friday night, after the scramble to get the week’s highlights in on time, I tacitly enjoyed looking through the hundreds of photos I had taken to find the five or six that would be published in the next edition of the paper. Football was made even more enjoyable by the success the local teams had, as all teams were good enough to make the playoffs. 

Then, there are the festivals. 

I’m really excited, because it’s almost festival season once again. From the Barbecue-Shag Festival, to the Johnsonville Heritage Festival and even the County Line Rodeo, these events are great for journalist to cover because they present such a target-rich environment in terms of photography. 

Now, as being the seasoned vet that I’ve become, it seems like the paper will continue to change.

And it will. 

The first changed will be a combination of The Weekly Observer with The Lake City News and Post. Take a look at the story on 1A for more information, but before you do, don’t fret. The Weekly Observer will still be here and Hemingway, Johnsonville and Williamsburg County will still get the quality coverage they deserve. Now, the papers will be able to deliver more in-depth stories that are done less to fill a paper out and more to tell a better story. 

Here’s to the next 365 days. I’ll see you on the other side.