Producing a community newspaper can bring great pleasure to those involved, particularly when the bundles of the result of their labours arrive from the printers and it proves to be a ‘good’ issue. Plenty of interesting items covering a wide spread of topics, thought provoking letters and photos which have printed up sharp and clear.
Sadly this issue is not one of these, for which I apologise. Given that January is holiday mode with schools closed, council, clubs and suchlike enjoying a break and much of the populace away the February issue is always a bit thin on news. The editor’s dilemma is what to do when there’s not enough copy?
Copy the English tabloids and make up a few very interesting stories? Probably not the kind of content our readers are looking for – and the thought of being sued for a couple of million is a bit off putting. A check back on previous years confirms that a difficult to fill February issue is always the case, which however, does not lessen the feeling of disappointment.
Nevertheless, checking back also assures that the March issue is usually pretty good. And I’m very sure that this March’s is going to be particularly so. Watch out for it!
It is only at times when there is not enough copy that the input of all the people who are so good at forwarding the news items, group reports and photos are really appreciated. For these are the life blood of a community newspaper. So all you good folk please take this as a personal ‘thanks’- and keep them coming.
We keep a comparing eye on similar community papers to the Star both in New Zealand and Australia and ,even allowing for natural bias, I think we compare very well. The only area in which we fall short of others is in the letters received. Most papers seem to have a vibrant dialog going with much input, in some cases spreading to more than one page. In our case it seems that Martinborough people must be a bit shy, or just pretty contented lot. However I’m sure that there are many of you out there who have some interesting thoughts to share. So don’t be bashful, pick up a pen or tap out your message, we’d love to hear from you.
Roll on March!
Mike
