This was probably the busiest week of my (young) professional career. Two big stories hit Mount Vernon in a 36-hour period – both of them shocking, and both warranting additional coverage.
When things like this happen – when a legendary local figure is arrested and charged with a fourth-degree felony, or when a longtime local business decides to close overnight – the community has questions. It seeks the truth – not just Facebook rumors, but actual facts. It needs the whole story, not just one side.
This is where local journalism comes into play. In the hours after the Paul Swanson news broke, we went digging. Cheryl Splain graciously helped me parse Ohio Revised Code at midnight Tuesday, and my editor, Larry Phillips, laid out the initial coverage gameplan. I spent Wednesday running up the courthouse stairs for documents, making phone calls with sources, and gleaning as much information as I could, as quickly as possible.
Thursday, when Jake’s Steakhouse abruptly announced its closure, we dug deeper into why and how it all went down late Wednesday night. We spoke with several of the 38 employees who worked at the Mount Vernon restaurant – some of whom were single parents, left jobless after receiving little to no warning. We told their stories, and we held power to account.
The result? Within hours of each of these stories breaking, our readers knew substantially more about why and how. They read confirmed, factual reporting on serious community issues. They became informed – they received the whole story.
This is why, here at Knox Pages, we love what we do. We’re community members just like you, and when news like this breaks, we have the same questions and concerns. Speaking for myself, I consider the greatest privilege of my job to be the opportunity to find the truth on days like this. To be able to tell my neighbors more about what they need to know. To make us more informed, more aware and more engaged. To exercise one of our nation’s most important, founding principles – that of the free press.
If you believe in this mission – and if you believe this kind of reporting is important to our community – become a Knox Pages Member today. Every penny goes directly to newsroom efforts, allowing us to report on the issues that concern our community the most. Join Dale Twomley and Truman Tomes, our new members this week, and many others in supporting our fight for a more informed Knox County.
Come do journalism with us. Become a member today.
