In sharp focus: For coverage with more local impact, the News-Argus recalibrates

Voila!

And there you have it, folks.

We hope by now you have seen and are content with the new look of the Goldsboro News-Argus. We understand that change can be difficult sometimes, but our intention is to bring you more of the stories that matter to you most, those that originate in your own back yard.

And, as many of our staff live and pay taxes here in Wayne County, those stories matter to us, too.

Our focus from here on out will be twofold. For starters, we want to bring you more of the information you want to see and read about. Community events, sports, food drives and fundraisers, new programs that benefit students or the elderly, the poor or the disabled -- these are just a few examples of the stories we have always and will continue to provide you with.

But we won't stop there. The second prong to our new community-focused newspaper is to delve into the issues, apolitically, to inform you of what is going on with your tax dollars, your governing bodies and elected officials, blight, crime and gentrification.

That is not to say that we haven't always been keen on delivering such news to your doorstep, quite the contrary. But given both the state of political discourse in the country and the obstacles faced by our chosen industry, we feel it is imperative that we sharpen our focus.

We will begin, this Wednesday, with a series detailing  a major concern affecting the community and which is applicable to all races, income levels and ethnic backgrounds. We aren't going to tell you yet just what that is, but you will know it when you see it.

And this is just the beginning. As we raise the bar for ourselves in our reporting and our presentation of the news, we hope to invite you in, through the use of videos, social media, public engagement and a sharper, cleaner looking print product, to introduce ourselves and to offer you insights into how and why we report what we do and the way we do.

Lastly, we all know better than to overpromise and underdeliver. We will never claim to have all the answers or to advocate for one solution over another to any particular issue or problem. Our duty is to report the facts in a way that is fair, makes sense and is digestible to each of our readers. What the public does or chooses not to do with that information is beyond us. But to do our jobs well, we will need to hear from you.

Tell us what you like and what you don't like. Invite us into your communities, your businesses, your schools and to your events.

Share with us and with your neighbors what is important to you. And while we might not be able to answer every question and tackle all sides of every issue raised in and around Wayne County, we will do our best to drive discussion, to hold accountable the policy makers, to be the watchdogs over the public's money, its rights and its collective interests.

Again, when we fail, let us know. When we succeed, tell us how that benefited you. Share your opinions through our social media platforms and with letters to the editor. We'll keep our opinions here, in the editorial section. The rest of the paper is dedicated to objective reporting with stories that start, pass through or end here, in Wayne County.

Published in Editorials on December 3, 2017 10:33 PM