“Transparency” is the vogue buzzword in my profession these days. Give your reading public a peek behind the curtain, and they’ll learn to trust you more, the pundits say.
Well, we’re going to open the curtains on our journalistic process this weekend (actually, we’re throwing a tent over it, but don’t spoil my analogy here) and give you, our adoring public, a chance to meet the people behind the bylines you read five days a week in The Evening Sun.
In what’s been an annual tradition for pretty much each of Colorscape Chenango’s 15 years, the staff of your hometown daily newspaper will be manning a booth in West Side Park near the main stage both Saturday and Sunday. We’re not selling anything; it’s just our annual meet and greet for the general public. Chained as I often am to my Lackawanna Avenue desk, it’s one of the few times a year I personally get out to see people in the daylight hours, so I’m pretty excited.
I’ll be joined in the tent this year as I am always by my editorial staff – Melissa deCordova, Tyler Murphy, Melissa Stagnaro, Pat Newell, Frank Speziale and the recently-returned Mike McGuire. Our esteemed publisher, Dick Snyder, usually drops by for an hour or two, as does our whiz-kid web guy, Craig Ballinger.
In addition to our intrepid staff, this year we’ve issued a special invitation to the real heroes of the newspaper – those who work for little or nothing at all: our correspondents.
You’ve seen the notation in bylines here and there, and you no doubt recognize some of their pictures from the columns they write ... these are the people who supplement the coverage provided by our full-time, paid staff. Their work is often colorful commentary, pieces aimed at niche audiences our “regular” staff can’t always get around to. And while we unfortunately can’t always afford to pay them a dime, their contributions are nonetheless invaluable.
Saturday afternoon, I’d like to cordially invite you to come to our Evening Sun tent in downtown Norwich to put faces and personalities to the names you already know. At various times throughout the day, you’ll be able to see:
• Bob McNitt, veteran Evening Sun contributor and writer of all things relating to the Great Outdoors.
