National Newspaper Week
A gentleman called me Wednesday afternoon to ask where all the Halloween parades are.
"The operator told me you'd know."I asked which one he wanted to know about and he replied, "All of them."I told him we were compiling a list and planned to publish it in Thursday's paper. I wanted to tell him to buy a copy, but he was polite and I knew it would only take a few minutes to help him.I told him about Lehighton, Tamaqua, Palmerton, Slatington and Jim Thorpe for starters.He asked about Barrett Township. I told him it is out of our area, but then I figured I had already invested time and he was very nice, so I looked it up on Facebook.Then he asked if these parades were televised. Turns out he didn't go to parades but really liked to watch them on TV.Welcome to National Newspaper Week.As I was pondering the week, I thought about why I got into journalism. It was Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein bringing the Watergate scandal to light that showed me the power of journalism. Maybe the movie with Robert Redford helped.For people just entering the field, it was 9/11 or other coverage that made them realize that they want to tell people's stories.The next generation might cite the investigation into the Catholic church.We all enter with ideals about breaking the big stories.And we quickly find out that our role in a community newspaper is much more important on an everyday basis.We are embroiled in controversial elections right now. Hopefully, we will help you make up your mind about who will get your vote.Better yet, we hope to persuade you to just get out and vote.This week Hurricane Matthew, dominated the news, we also told you about events closer to home.We told you what Schuylkill County is doing to keep the prison population down, how Palmerton Area School District is progressing on its plans for the junior high addition and turf field, and even gave you a chance to buy "Miss Dolly" the trolley.We also compiled the list of trick-or-treat nights, something everyone needs to know.Of course, we print our share of crime and court news. We get calls from people who are listed and they criticize us for printing the information. They claim we made it up and they are innocent. Frankly, we are so busy we don't have time to make up news. We have enough to report.Some people don't want to know about the crime. They want good news. We do, too.But we all need to know what's happening in our neighborhoods, from robberies to drug sales.We need to acknowledge that drugs are rampant and we need to work together to save people.We strive to be a source of community news that you can't just get anywhere.Earlier this week I got a call from a woman who wanted to know if we'd put her church's pet blessing in the paper."Sure," I told her, and she dictated the info.That's why we're here, for the big stories and the small notices.We're here to keep you informed about your community.That's why we like to celebrate National Newspaper Week all year long. Marta Gouger is the editor of the Times News. You can email her at