It seemed that every 6 to 8 months Bruce Frassinelli would extol the virtues of community journalism in this very space.

The venerable newsman, a native of Summit Hill, spent his entire career at “local” newspapers. He loved them.

Bruce, who wrote several pieces a week for the Times News, died suddenly in September, leaving a huge void inside and outside of journalism. It’s not easy writing three to four opinion pieces a week - ones that are well-researched and well-thought out, at least.

In the wake of bad news recently in the media world - Sports Illustrated is on the verge of collapse, the Los Angeles Times is laying of 20% of its staff and most newspapers are shells of themselves from just a decade ago - I wanted to pick up Bruce’s pen (maybe that’s keyboard) and tell you why the craft that he loved dearly is important, especially in places like the Coal Region.

There has been a lot of blasting of the media in recent years, some calling it the Fake News, but I guarantee you that doesn’t bother us.

Why?

Because readers/citizens have been blasting the “media” since Ben Franklin founded the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1728.

We are used to being the “bad guy.”

That’s why, despite all the negative comments toward the press, we forge on. We don’t do it for the politicians or the coaches or school board members.

We bring you the news, in as unbiased fashion as we can, so that you are informed. So that you know what is happening in your community. So that you know what your elected officials are voting on and doing, or not doing.

Where else can you get updates on the closing of the Lansford Borough office because the council has not selected a secretary? Our Kelly Monitz Socha has been on top of the story for almost a month now.

We exclusively reported the frustrations of Panther Valley School Board members with state lawmakers over the school funding issue during a recent meeting about the plan to build a new school. Note to Panther Valley parents: Do not let up. Call or email your state lawmakers (state Sen. David Argall and state Rep. Doyle Heffley) and tell them you won the court case and your school district needs the funds the court ordered so you can hire more teachers and make much-needed building upgrades.

Yes, you can go online and see how your state lawmakers voted, but it’s a bit cumbersome and time consuming. That’s why we started a “How Your Lawmakers Voted” feature that compiles it all in one tidy place - here on the Opinion page. You can thank staffers Jarrad Hedes and Jill Mack for that.

We have informed you over the last month how you can help your fellow citizens who are in need by donating or volunteering to local food pantries.

While I spend most of my time in the “hard’ news department, I would be remiss to not pat the other departments on the back. Our sports department is second to none in local coverage, while our Lifestyle pages bring you information on health, money and raising kids - don’t get me started on that last one. On a grimmer note, we inform you on the deaths of your friends and neighbors on the obituary page.

Putting out a daily newspaper has often been compared - by journalists at least - to making sausage. Readers don’t want to see how we do it, they just want a good product.

Are we perfect? Heck no. But I’ve worked at three different local newspapers in eastern Pennsylvania and I guarantee you that the staff at each paper was/is committed to a few things:

1. Informing readers of what is happening in their communities.

2. Holding elected officials accountable.

3. Encouraging our readers to be active parts of making their communities better.

I obviously have a selfish reason for wanting you to read the Times News in print or online - I like getting paid. But even better than that, I like a well-informed citizenry.

Tom DeSchriver/tdeschriver@tnonline.com