Mark’s Musings – May 1, 2013

Mark Fortune

Each year I think it is important to pause and thank the community for allowing The Beacon to continue publishing a weekly community newspaper. This week is special. We are celebrating our fifth anniversary and more importantly, beginning our sixth year of continuously publishing The Coshocton County Beacon. This issue is Volume 6, Number 1. Waaaaaaaaaay back in May 2008 (sounds like a long time ago doesn’t it?) we published Volume 1, Number 1 – on May 1, 2008. That issue was special of course, representing a leap of faith and courage – and a strong belief in you, the people of Coshocton County that if we published a positively focused newspaper – you would follow. And follow you have. With constant changes in technology and news driven more by spur of the moment texts, Twitter and Facebook posts and immediate internet news access, some might wonder about the value of a print focused business model.

But the reality is that print is doing quite well and especially so with community newspapers like The Beacon. People have a hunger for the type of news that many newspapers have long since stopped covering, publishing or have as a core business focus. I hope that The Beacon can stay the course and keep our direction for the next five years. I look forward to celebrating our tenth anniversary with you in 2018. Do we get to every local event that deserves our attention and publicity? Certainly not. This community is blessed with people that are willing to give of their time and talent for worthwhile purposes. That is a good thing. I wish we could give all of those organizations and their people their just due. Perhaps in time we will.

Thanks to you, the people and businesses of Coshocton and the surrounding communities, The Beacon enjoys a positive image in our community. That credit goes to you, not us. For without your support – our readers and advertisers – The Beacon would simply be just another bunch of thrown together pages of newsprint with black and color ink smeared from top to bottom. We try not to take your support lightly – I hope all of you that have ever submitted a press release, emailed a photo, placed a classified ad, are one of our many regular advertisers, and of course, one of our thousands of requestors that receive The Beacon every week, know that we don’t. You make The Beacon what it is, a representation of Coshocton County, a representation of this great community that we call home.

I truly believe in my heart that of all the places, of all the towns and cities and villages spread across this great land, that this place, Coshocton County, was the best place to plant The Coshocton County Beacon and have it take root, flourish and continue to grow. You, the people of Coshocton County, are the nourishment and encouragement that has allowed, and continues to allow, The Beacon to blossom. Thank you.

Category: Mark's Musings