By Becky Holland
I have wanted to own my own newspaper since I was about seven years old — maybe even a little younger.
Of course, back then there was no internet. There were no online newspapers, social media pages or websites constantly being updated with breaking news. When I pictured owning a newspaper, I pictured ink, paper and probably a newsroom that looked much larger in the imagination of a little girl than it ever would in real life.
But the dream was there.
And all these years later, it still is.
The Ledger may not look exactly like the newspaper I imagined when I was seven, but it is mine. More importantly, it is a newspaper devoted to Cochran and Bleckley County and to telling the stories of the people who live here.
Getting to this point has not always been easy.
One of the biggest challenges has been getting people to recognize The Ledger as a newspaper because it exists online rather than arriving folded in a driveway or newspaper box.
Sometimes organizations send information elsewhere but forget about The Ledger. Sometimes people share stories from other outlets while overlooking the same story published locally. And sometimes I still find myself explaining that, yes, this really is a newspaper.
I understand. The way people receive news has changed tremendously.
But the work of journalism hasn’t changed nearly as much.
There are still meetings to cover, questions to ask, ballgames to report, photographs to take, businesses to introduce, accomplishments to celebrate and stories that deserve to be told.
And there is still a community that deserves its own news source.
Dolly Parton once said, “You’ve got to work really hard to make a dream come true. That’s the difference between a wish and a dream. You can sit around and wish for good things to happen to you, but a dream is something you have to pursue, something you make happen.”
She also put it another way:
“You’re not going to see your dreams come true if you don’t put wings, legs, arms, hands, and feet on ’em.”
I understand that a little better now than I did as a seven-year-old dreaming about owning a newspaper.
Dreams require work.
They require showing up when you’re tired. They require trying something that may or may not work, learning from mistakes and trying again. Sometimes they require changing what the dream looks like without giving up on the dream itself.
And sometimes they require asking for help.
That last one doesn’t come particularly easily to me.
I am stubborn. I tend to believe I can figure things out myself, carry the load myself and somehow make everything work if I just keep pushing.
But a community newspaper cannot truly be a community newspaper with only one person behind it.
Readers help by reading, sharing stories, sending news tips, telling me about events and letting organizations know they want to see their news in The Ledger.
Businesses help through advertising and sponsorships.
That support isn’t charity, and I don’t want anyone to view it that way. Advertising with The Ledger is an opportunity for local businesses to put their names, products and services in front of local readers while also helping make continued local news coverage possible.
If you own a business and have considered advertising with The Ledger, I’d love to talk with you.
If you or your organization would like to sponsor a particular type of coverage or find another way to partner with The Ledger, I’d love to talk about that, too.
And if advertising isn’t something you need, you can still help simply by reading, sharing our work and remembering The Ledger when you have news to tell.
I’m still putting wings, legs, arms, hands and feet on that childhood dream.
Nearly 50 years after a little girl first imagined owning a newspaper, I’m getting to live it.
And I intend to keep working to make that dream stronger — with the help of the community it was created to serve.
After all, it is our community … our news.
Email me at editor@thecbledger.com.
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