Editorial: Good wishes for the future of the Reporter
Last week, the oldest man in America died at the age of 114. He had been asked many times to list the secrets to his long life, one of which was this: embrace change. Change is good.
The Shelter Island Reporter is going through some changes of its own. While the editorial staff prepares for new leadership, I’d like to celebrate some of the staff’s accomplishments, many of which came from changing how we look at our role in the community.
• Bringing thorough voter information to our readers at election time and developing endorsements based on specific criteria assessed by the entire editorial staff.
• Making our coverage of Shelter Island School sports a priority. We have no dedicated budget to produce a sports section. So what? We found a way to deliver the sports news our readers requested.
• Telling more Islanders’ stories on page 3. County Legislator Ed Romaine commented last year that he reads page 3 of the Reporter first. It represents what makes Shelter Island such a special place — its people.
• Putting a brighter spotlight on school news. Whether you are a parent of local students or not, the school is at the heart of the community and, for the fiscally minded, represents half of your local tax bill.
• Raising awareness of citizen rights to open government. Our elected officials often need a reminder of how transparent government is supposed to work. Here’s one for the road: the elimination of school or government positions, as opposed to specific individual employee issues, must be discussed openly.
• Delivering award-winning journalism that engages the community. Our editorial section (your letters included), Bev Walz’s photography, Peter Waldner’s cartoons (including the Halloween cartoon of a scary Carl Paladino that set off quite a letter-writing episode) and Ted Hills’ story of the final home basketball game of 2010 all won awards this year. New York Press Association judges also noted that the Reporter “served the community well” in its coverage of the Island’s response to the death of Lt. Joey Theinert.
• Above all else, bringing as many Island voices into this newspaper as possible — thanks to our numerous and colorful columnists in the Op-Ed, community and sports sections and our many letter writers, who fill this paper with genuinely local commentary.
The Reporter will change — it’s part of the secret to our success. I hope our readers will embrace this change and continue to engage this newspaper in community concerns.
In this space each week, I’ve tried to strike up a dialogue with our readers. I have truly enjoyed the conversation. Thank you.
CARA LORIZ, EDITOR
