Paper must shine light on all aspects

Published 9:00 am Monday, January 8, 2018

It was a little more than a year ago that The Winchester Sun wrote an editorial in this space emphasizing the newspaper’s goal was to accurately reflect the community.

That belief hasn’t changed one bit.

In fact, we feel that The Sun better represents Winchester and Clark County now than it did when we originally articulated that.

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As we said then, for better or worse, a daily newspaper simply serves as a proverbial mirror, offering an unflinching reflection of the community.

That can be difficult at times.

In many cases, this means showcasing all the great things going on around Winchester and Clark County. And there are many.

From volunteers working hard to make a difference to businesses growing to create jobs to local government providing services, there are so many positive changes happening right here. So many amazing people are doing amazing things.

The newspaper has a responsibility to make sure our readers know about this and that these groups get the recognition they deserve. Your feedback and input remains a vital part of that process.

Unfortunately, the other less flattering images in the mirror are the police reports, public records and court reporting that detail exactly what law enforcement and emergency service providers deal with each and every day.

The newspaper has a responsibility to report this type of news as well and we will never forsake this duty.

Although we are often asked to sanitize the news or only report the things that create a positive image, we cannot in good conscience take that approach.

Ignoring the challenges our community faces and simply burying our heads in the sand will not make the issues go away.

As we pointed out a year ago, and believe just as firmly today, the first step toward fixing a problem is acknowledging there is one.

Every solution starts with being truthful.

We must work together as a community.

The Winchester Sun’s goal is not to report good news or bad, but simply to fairly and accurately present all the news about our community.

Once again, if we don’t like what we see in the mirror, each of us have the ability to lead change.