FROM THE EDITOR
Sometimes the truth hurts, but often that’s the only way people are going to get better at what they do.
Nowhere was this more apparent than during the first press briefing at the White House under President Donald J. Trump a few weeks ago when Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed the mainstream media they now would share the room with new media.
She noted legacy television stations and big legacy newspapers have lost not only audience but trust during the last few years. At the same time, new media — bloggers, podcasters, commentators, influencers, content producers and the independent press (such as this magazine) — have picked up a greater share of information consumers.
Here at the East Wilco Insider, published by the Taylor Press, we’ve known this for a long time. Readers may have even seen our new subscription campaign that notes we’re not the mainstream media, we’re the Main Street media.
That typifies what we do and what we’re good at — focusing on local stories and local communities. Mainstream media won’t cover livestock shows, welding competitions, charity marathons, farmers markets, holiday parades and all the other events that make up the fabric of small-town life you find in the Main Street media.
But we also don’t ignore the big stories. One of the biggest differences between us and corporate media is the stories one reads in the Insider are written by your friends and neighbors, people you see weekly at church, the grocery store and local sports games.
We’re people you can pick up the phone and talk to, or visit in person, if you have a story idea or a complaint. That’s why we’re the Main Street media, not mainstream. Leavitt was also right about traditional print media losing audience share in the digital age. That’s why at the Insider we’re more than just a division of a newspaper company.
We’re also part of a communications and marketing firm –– parent company Granite Media Partners Inc. –– embracing the 21st century by offering content on new platforms, from breaking news online to shows streamed via social media, updates and advertising broadcast on local TV screens in retail establishments, and using X, Instagram and Facebook to get out stories.
Print publications will always be our core product. At the Insider, the trust created over the last four years since the publication was launched is the bedrock providing a solid foundation for new ways of storytelling.
Our pledge, though, remains the same: To offer unbiased, impartial news that educates, informs and perhaps even entertains. From Main Street to beyond, we will always be there for our readers.
Special note: March 16-22 is Sunshine Week, marking a widespread partnership encompassing journalists, civic leaders, educators, lawmakers and the private sector to “shine a light” on the need for open government, transparency and safeguarding access to public records.
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