If the past ten years of national politics have taught the general public anything, it should be how extremely deceitful, dishonest and extremely biased legacy media (mass media institutions – particularly print media, film studios, music studios, advertising agencies, radio broadcasting and television) and social media have become.

There used to be a day in our country where the national media simple reported the facts, all of the facts, and allowed the public to draw their own conclusions and responses.

Today, nearly every major news organization constructs and covers stories to benefit their political, economic, social and moral view. It’s to the point now that they don’t even hide their agendas and actually take great pride in their ability to influence the public with their slanted articles or coverage.

Perhaps that’s why I love community journalism so much. Small town newspapers still regard their responsibilities of simply reporting facts and believe the public is smart enough to draw their own conclusions and develop the appropriate response.

I’ve said it many times but it bears repeating. Our job as a community newspaper is to simply be the eyes and ears for the public to allow them the ability to know what’s going on in their community. It’s not our job to sway the public one way or another, but rather report news in an unbiased way so the public is informed and allowed to make decisions on their own. We still believe the public is smart enough, when presented all the evidence in a fair manner, to draw their own conclusions.

We certainly have our opinions and share them from time to time in the appropriate space, the editorial pages, but when it comes to reporting news from public meetings or other issues in the parish, we believe the only fair and responsible manner of reporting is to merely share with the public what is happening free from any attempt of influence.

Remaining unbiased in reporting also includes keeping stories free from slanting even if we don’t necessarily agree with political leaders or if we believe their actions are wrong. Again, when it comes to reporting on public meetings, we are simply a “fly on the wall” listening, taking notes or recording comments to make sure we can accurately and fairly disseminate the information on the pages of this newspaper.

Having a community newspaper allows the public to have the assurance that even though they can’t make their town council meetings, police jury meetings or school board meetings, they can stay up to date on what is occurring with their elected officials through the coverage the newspaper provides each week.

For instance, last week we printed an article about the Jena Town Council introducing an ordinance to prohibit the construction of any new RV parks in the city limits. For the vast majority of the parish, no one would have known about the ordinance had the town council meeting not been covered and an article printed.

Again, I have my views about the proposed law, but my job as a journalist is to not interject that opinion in the coverage of the meeting. My job is to just report the facts, as was noted years ago in a popular television show Dragnet: “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” (For our older readers who remember this reference.)

The point of this is to demonstrate the importance of community newspapers and the role they play and the vast difference between small town papers and the national media.

Allow me to expound further: If we reported that Jena Council meeting the way the national media covers meetings, we would have created a sensationalized story that had it appear there was a major controversy between Council members and/or the Mayor. The truth is, there was no major controversy but rather elected officials discussing and sharing their thoughts and concerns about a controversial issue. No one left the meeting upset with anyone but rather all left determined to research the issue further and talk with their constituents to find out whether or not they should ultimately vote for the new law.

Or, if we reported it the way the national media reports, we would have picked a side and then only printed the comments supporting the side we preferred in an attempt to sway the public to rally behind our stance on the issue. Trust me, I’ve been writing stories for over 35 years and could easily do that with any meeting I cover.

The truth is, if I ever do that one time, my credibility is gone and this newspaper’s integrity is destroyed. The public would have every right to never trust anything printed in its pages again should we ever venture down that path of no return.

Our responsibility is to simply be the eyes and ears for the public to keep them informed of all that is occurring in their parish. That’s it. No hidden agenda. No vendettas against people who have done us wrong in the past or talked about us on social media in the past or present. We don’t hold grudges for past actions whether they be local politicians or neighbors as we have a greater responsibility that surpasses all of that.

We are YOUR community newspaper. We are dedicated to our job of keeping the public informed of all activities in the parish and to providing an official, historical record of the events for future generations to glean.

We are committed to being the eyes and ears of LaSalle Parish in an effort to keep this parish one of the greatest in the nation.

The RV park story last week was just one of many examples of the importance of your local newspaper. Take away coverage of public meetings and the public would be left in the dark of not just important issues but even smaller issues that lead to greater consequences.

It is this commitment to transparency that allows a free and democratic society to operate to its fullest potential. Take away the Freedom of the Press and that Press’s responsibility to report news fairly and you’re left with a communist society where the average citizen has no voice and no repercussion.

As long as we are permitted to operate this newspaper, we will continue the legacy of providing the public with the news coverage that will allow our parish to continue to succeed.