The New Era - All about Sweet Home since 1929

The first week of October was the 81st annual National Newspaper Week, a recognition of the service of newspapers and their employees across North America.

Like a lot of similar celebratory events one can find on the calendar, its goal is to spotlight an issue or celebrate something, in this case the role newspapers play in our nation. For me as a publisher, it’s an opportunity to reflect on what’s going on in our industry, how we’re serving our readers, what we could do better, etc.

Self-reflection can be healthy. Each year, for instance, our Sweet Home and Lebanon newspapers enter...