Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Clarke Courier once again
Last Saturday my editor and I spent an hour going through archives dating back to the 1920's in the attic of the Clarke Times-Courier's office building.
Photos are the best part of archives because they tell the story in a way words can't. Flipping through photos of Clarke County women on the catwalk for Sears fashion shows, photos of 4-Hers tackling pigs at the fair, it seemed some things haven't changed much in the last 80 years. But, somethings have.
And now, another something is changing. The publisher of the paper is switching hands.
This development has brought on mixed feelings. I'm sure you, thee citizens of CC, feel the same. When it comes to the best interest of the county, the sale is a good move. The "Wincster" has more resources for the paper than we as a four-person editorial staff could provide. This means very good things for you readers.
The mixed feelings come in with the termination of my position as Staff Writer. I have been absorbed into the Loudoun Times-Mirror and another paper under my publisher, which is located in Fairfax. I'll become the Real Estate Editor full-time in a position I am currently under part-time. This move is best for me.
Although I was raised in Round Hill, I am clearly not a rural type of girl - this is only apparant if you've met me. Having spent the last five years of my life living either in Paris or Washington, DC, I more than welcome a move further East into Fairfax County.
On the other hand, I will no longer be speaking with the people on my "beats" these people I have grown accustomed to in all of their misnomers and quirks - public officials included. As far as news goes, last week couldn't be beat - and I'd like to think that my run as a news reporter in CC ended with a bang.
Subjects that I was just beginning to understand, that I had patted myself on the back for even shallowly comprehending, will probably be my biggest let down. I find it a shame that I will not have enough time to let the public in on all the knowledge I have collected regarding the county (Karst region, road plans, zoning) and its past, its present and its future.
There is a sadness, but there is also a relief. The Byrd papers assuming the Clarke Courier will hopefully bring it back to the way it once was - the way citizens have wanted it to be - a community news bulletin.
To me, this is a good and a bad thing. I'd like to think that we "crazies" Ruth, Tracy (editor) and I have brought a breath of fresh, modern, forward-thinking news to an officially conservative and old-school readership. Of course this is an upset, but it is also a necessity.
I leave with no regrets, but I don't leave without making a mark on you, CC.
Maybe in 25 years I will come back and look through the archives once again. I will see my byline in the paper, in the 2007-2008 editions. I will see my hard work, my photos, my words that I slaved over and meticulously displayed : locked away in one year's worth - a slight footprint - of what will then be more than 100 years of newspaper history.
You must be logged in to post a comment.