By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Sometime in the next month or so, we’ll be taking a week off. Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to let you know well in advance.
I’ll also still update the web page and Facebook with any breaking news or important public notices.
But after more than two years of putting out the newspaper every week, without a week off – even during holidays – we’re in need of a short break.
We’d planned to take some time off for Labor Day, but a series of content commitments in the weeks before and after the holiday made that impossible. We also have a number of birthdays throughout August and September, into October, and with football season upon is, there really isn’t a good weekend to be away.
Of course, the same could be said of any time that we might try to take time off. The rest of the world doesn’t ever stop just because you want a break. In a typical news room this might not be an issue. You just schedule someone else to handle the coverage. But we aren’t a typical newsroom, and while our lean staff means we can deliver the news to you with minimal overhead and still make a modest living, this is the downside.
We’ll eventually take that break, and we’ll let you know when we do. Just be sure to keep your eyes peeled for it sometime before the year is out.
New staff
Speaking of keeping your eyes open, you might have noticed a new byline in the paper last week. We’d like you all to say hello to Brooke Cordle, our new part time staff member – at least for the next few weeks. You’ll see some additional reporting from her in this edition, and more in the coming weeks. We don’t have Brooke forever, the grant covering her salary is only good for six weeks of part time work, but she’s already proven herself an invaluable addition. She’s eager to learn and we’ve put her on some general duty reporting, writing, photography, and even working on some layout and social media work. We’re honored to be able to contribute to her professional education, and she’s already agreed to continue to do some work as a stringer once her temporary contract is up. The Hitchins based writer will be helping cover sports, focusing mostly on East Carter while I continue to cover West when there are scheduling conflicts.
Radio partnerships
You may have noticed that we’ve shared photographs and content with Go Radio, WUGO/WGOH, in recent months. We’ve also shared audio that we’ve recorded at various public meetings for the radio station to use in preparing their news broadcasts, shared election results live on air, and generally been very open about sharing our knowledge and resources with one another. Expect to see more of this in the coming months as we borrow some content from Go Radio, and continue to contribute to their news coverage in a relationship that benefits our readers and their listeners in providing a balance of timely and in-depth content.
We aren’t blazing any new trails or treading any new ground, but we hope you find this focus on shared resources as exciting and valuable as we do.
As always, thank you for your support, and for allowing us to serve as your news source. We appreciate you.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com