Local journalism recognized back home

In 1969, John Howell, a man from Greenwich Connecticut, bought my hometown paper, the Warwick Beacon, in Rhode Island.
To put it into context, my parents, who are both from Warwick, and have lived there their entire lives, were two years old.
For 55 years, Howell was publisher, owner, and editor of the Beacon, and other newspapers in the suburban part of Rhode Island.
A year ago, Howell sold his newspapers to a former editor of the Cranston Herald, a paper Howell owned.
I say all this because I was scrolling through Facebook last week when I came across a video by a state representative I used to cover a few years ago.
Rhode Island State Rep. Marie Hopkins, a Republican lawmaker, had invited publishers of local newspapers from across the state to be at the state house, to be honored for the important role each and every one of them plays in their local communities.
“They are true heroes in providing us with a record of life and events right here in our own big backyard,” Hopkins wrote on Facebook. “In a world of changing, controversial media landscape, it is our small press that keeps us wonderfully connected. These folks, along with all our other local papers publishers, keep us grounded in our communities. We owe them thanks.”
Hopkins is absolutely right.
There are people like Howell, who 55 years ago, was a young man, could’ve done a lot of things with his degree from American University.
But instead he chose journalism, particularly at the local level. Howell, in his 80s, still continues to serve as the editor of the Warwick Beacon.
I had the opportunity to work for Howell, right before moving back to Minnesota.
It was an absolute honor to work for my hometown paper, the second largest city in the state, and a place which had a lot of news constantly.
Howell could’ve been retired, but instead, he would keep up with me working 40-50 hour weeks, taking photos, and writing his fair share of stories.
Any history which took place in Warwick for over 50 years, Howell likely had a photo of it.
I was very pleased to see Howell, and the rest of the local newspapers being recognized by state legislators.
It got me thinking about all of the dedication to local journalism in Minnesota as well, including many talented people I have the privilege of working with.
Karen Jorgensen, the Editor of the Dodge County Independent, began her journalism career in the 1970s.
She just so happened to mention to me the other day that her first summer internship, while studying journalism at the University of Minnesota was at the Owatonna Peoples Press, her hometown newspaper.
Her career, in community journalism, has spanned across communities in Minnesota, Texas, Washington D.C., and even New Jersey.
I met Jorgensen, during my first stint with the Dodge County Independent, and the Steele County Times, when I was 23 years old. She could’ve been retired then, or at least had been doing something less stressful.
The newspapers she was working for at the time, owned by Larry and Melanie Dobson, two people who for decades dedicated their careers towards community journalism, had closed.
But instead of calling it a career, she came on board to work at the time as a reporter and has been with the paper ever since.
My colleagues at the Steele County Times Joni Hubred, and Kay Fate, have dedicated decades in community journalism, in Minnesota, and for Hubred Michigan as well.
Rick Bussler, the publisher of this newspaper, began his career when he was still a kid in Brownton, Minnesota. He is roughly the same age as my parents, so it’s been a long career for him.
Then there is Howard Lestrud, a columnist, and feature reporter, for the Steele County Times. I met Lestrud, when I was 23, and at that point he had been working as a journalist for over 50 years.
Despite health issues, and after being “retired” Lestrud continues to still put out stories mostly on a weekly basis.
When the Steele County Times won newspaper of the year for the Minnesota Newspaper Association I was honored to share the stage with him.
This is just a list of the full-time staff I get to work with who have spent hundreds of years in local community journalism. People like myself and Steele County Times Sports Editor Johnnie Phillips are relatively “newbies” compared to our colleagues.
This month marks 10 years since I had my first byline, I was 20 years old, going into my junior year of college, and had no expectation that I would one day become a full-time journalist.
In a time when far too many people view any form of the free press as corrupt, enemies, propaganda, or whatever other insult they want to throw at us, it’s refreshing to see state legislators use their platform to lift up local community newspapers.
Local newspapers like ours play a pivotal role in covering sports teams, school boards, city councils, bake sales, community events, and a number of other things.
We also play a vital role in holding the powerful accountable, and telling stories people may not like or want to hear. This often comes with a lot of backlash.
Unfortunately, like everything else in these polarizing times, attacks on media, including at the local level, are worse than I’ve ever seen.
I hope leaders in this state will consider a sign of support for its local news like what took place in Rhode Island, in the near future.