“The organizers didn’t want to limit the gathering to people they already knew — which meant posting it on the Facebook Group that has filled the vacuum left by the departure of the local news.”

The Clermont Sun, the local community newspaper for 192 years, is still here. https://twitter.com/annehelen/status/1279918621821505536

“There was no local television news to document what happened in Bethel on that Sunday afternoon.” The Sun was there. Our reporter took photos. Documented it. I appreciate our original reporting on the ground gets linked later in that paragraph though. https://www.clermontsun.com/2020/06/17/motorcycle-gangs-incite-violence-at-bethel-black-lives-matter-demonstration/.

I get it. We’re a small paper, so us being there on the ground, as we always are, isn’t going to get as much attention because of that smaller platform. But we were, and I’m proud of my reporter’s story on it, particularly given the volatile situation she was in.

Anne’s piece is solid, thorough reporting, too. I’m moved by Riley’s story — that’s powerful. And I appreciate as many investigative eyeballs on our small village; there’s plenty of stories to tell. I just don’t want the little guys (the local community paper) to get overlooked.