By Becky Holland
Publisher and Editor, The Ledger
Six months ago today, on March 18, The Ledger went online for the first time. This week, we passed 100,000 all-time views according to our site host.
Those numbers are worth celebrating. But what I keep coming back to is something much simpler:
God has blessed us.
I believe He has been in this from the beginning, opening doors and reminding me along the way why The Ledger exists.
And there is still work to be done.
There are stories throughout Cochran and Bleckley County waiting to be told — stories about our people, businesses, churches, schools and organizations.
We need your help finding them.
Send us your news. Tell us about someone we should meet. Let us spotlight your business. Tell us what your church, school or organization is doing. There are people in this community doing wonderful things every day, and their stories deserve to be told.
And there is something else I want people to understand.
The Ledger is not a Facebook page.
We use Facebook and other social media to share our work, but The Ledger is an online newspaper with an official website at www.thecbledger.com. That’s where our journalism lives.
You can help us grow by sharing our stories and links with friends through social media, text and email. Submit your news. Advertise with us. Become a Ledger sponsor. Every bit of that support helps us continue doing the work.
The other day, I received a call from a funeral home outside our community. They needed to publish the obituary of a man with ties to Cochran. They searched for newspapers serving Cochran and found The Ledger.
They called us.
I was honored and humbled.
In six months, this little idea has become something people find when they search for a newspaper serving our community.
That also comes with responsibility.
The Ledger believes in facts, not perception. We believe in asking questions, checking information and correcting mistakes when we make them. We believe public officials should be accountable to the people they serve and that questions can be asked respectfully and fairly.
We also believe local journalism isn’t only about government meetings and difficult questions.
It’s football games and church announcements. It’s new businesses and school accomplishments. It’s obituaries and community celebrations. It’s telling the stories of the people who make this place home.
Let us be your voice.
Thank you to everyone who has read a story, shared a link, submitted news, advertised, contributed, encouraged us or trusted The Ledger with your story.
And above all, I thank God for blessing this endeavor beyond anything I imagined six months ago.
One hundred thousand views isn’t a finish line.
Tomorrow there will be another meeting, another ballgame, another announcement, another question and another story waiting to be told.
So we’ll get back to work.
We’ve come a long way.
And there are so many stories still to tell.
Our Community. Our News.
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