The 84th observance of National Newspaper Week continues to Saturday. “Telling Our Stories” is the theme of this year’s event, October 6 to 12.

Each person who calls the long familiar red building at 5 Church Hill Road their work home has a reason for being here. Every member of our Editorial Department has followed a different path to get here, yet we have the same goal: to tell the stories, good and bad, of those who call Newtown home. Some have been telling these stories for decades, others are just starting a career in journalism. Our focus remains on the stories of Newtown — her residents of all ages, leaders, schools and students, athletes, communities of faith, and her businesses and those who lead them. Local stories are our wheelhouse, yet state and national topics that affect those who live locally also find their way into features and press releases in print and online every week. Journalism still matters. With passion, dedication and resilience, those who call themselves journalists continue to seek and share the truth every day. Undaunted by long-standing and new challenges faced every day, reporters and editors here and in most newsrooms remain dedicated to serving the Fourth Estate.

Communities depend on local newspapers. According to an America’s Newspapers 2023 Local Newspaper Study conducted by Coda Ventures, one out of every two Americans read or access information from their local weekly newspaper every month. While we would like to think people read or access our information more frequently, we’ll accept that figure and turn it into another internal challenge. We will continue to celebrate Newtown’s community spirit and serve as her public conscience while remaining a reliable source of information.

According to the same survey, 87% of newspaper readers feel they have a responsibility to help shape the future of their communities. Further, every generation reads newspapers. From Gen Z to The Silent Generation, everyone consumes newspaper content whether in print or digitally. Finally, 74% of those surveyed believe it is important to have a local newspaper. That may be our favorite stat of all.

As we head toward one of the most contentious elections in this country’s history, here is one more thing to consider: Newspaper readers determine elections. Almost eight out of every 10 newspaper readers vote in national or state elections (the survey did not ask about local elections).

In this space fifty years ago Bee Publisher Paul S. Smith said, “it seems, in a way, like blowing one’s own horn for a newspaper to remind its readers of its own worth. Yet perhaps it can be pardoned once a year, and National Newspaper Week presents that opportunity.”

We feel similarly today, yet as we head toward October 12 and the conclusion of National Newspaper Week 2024, our promise to every reader and advertiser is still the same one made by Bee Publishing Company Founder John Pearce 147 years ago. We promise the best in local news and advertising.