As you can see from the graphic below, we are nearing the tail end of National Newspaper Week (NNW), which this year runs from October 2 to 8.

On the heels of our writing about, participating in, and supporting World News Day a couple of Ink Drops ago, we are mindful that this editorial space should not exhaustively be utilized for self-promotion.

However, we balance that against the lack of, incomplete, or misstatements of facts that our staff regularly sees or hears — whether out at community events and meetings, or in various posts across the multitude of Newtown-centric social network sites on the web.

That said, we cannot shirk the responsibility or ignore the opportunity to highlight a week that is devoted to the importance and sustainability of the kind of local journalism you will find every week — for $1 or less, if you subscribe — in the weekly print edition of your Newtown Bee.

Of course, we love our 22,837 collective social network fans, and the roughly 5,000-plus weekly page visitors to newtownbee.com, as do our web advertisers. But it truly is our family of print subscribers and readers who get everything our modest team and your neighboring small local business here on Church Hill Road have to offer every week.

We also are gratified to partner with our fellow local businesses providing everything from a modest classified listing to eye-catching, up to full page display ads that frame most of our print pages every week. If you are a local business, event host, or are even just opening your yard or garage for a tag sale, we have you covered with economically-priced and well-read marketing.

And after more than 145 years serving Newtown, The Bee is proud to keep delivering and being well-read when we know you as readers are facing an astronomical level of competition for your time and attention.

As our colleague Al Cross, professor of journalism, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism, and president of the Society of Professional Journalists says, “Social media may be fun, but they’re no replacement for newspapers.”

In a NNW editorial, Cross reminds us that local newspapers, “...tell readers how we know something, or we attribute it to someone. Social media have no discipline and no verification. And they’re mainly about opinion, not facts. Journalism, especially in newspapers, is mainly about facts, not opinion. Opinions are the heartbeat of a democracy, but they should be based on facts. And for the facts, we need newspapers.”

We also appreciate (and hope you do too) Dean Ridings, CEO, America’s Newspapers, who adds, “If you’re reading this, you probably already have a good understanding of why it is important to have a healthy newspaper in your town. By subscribing to or advertising, you are providing much needed support to keep trained, professional journalists covering the issues important to you.”

He goes on to remind citizens that “your local newspaper’s focus is on making the community stronger, safer and healthier; your local newspaper makes a difference in your community in many ways,” and its “staff share the same concerns as all the other residents.”

That’s true every week, not just during National Newspaper Week! So, again, thank you for reading — and subscribing to — The Newtown Bee.