FROM THE EDITOR
Sometimes the truth hurts, but often that’s the only way people are going to get better at what they do.
Nowhere was this more apparent than during the first press briefing at the White House under President Donald J. Trump two weeks ago when Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed the mainstream media they now would share the room with new media.
She noted legacy television stations and big legacy newspapers have lost not only audience but trust during the last few years. At the same time, new media — bloggers, podcasters, commentators, influencers, content producers and the independent press — have picked up a greater share of information consumers.
Here at the independent Taylor Press, and its owner Granite Media Partners Inc., we’ve known this for a long time. Readers may have even seen our new subscription campaign noting we’re not the mainstream media, we’re the Main Street media.
That typifies what we do and what we’re good at — focusing on local stories and local communities. Mainstream media won’t cover livestock shows, welding competitions, charity marathons, farmers markets, holiday parades and all the other events that make up the fabric of smalltown life you find in every issue of the Press.
But we also don’t ignore the big stories. Within these pages readers have seen breaking news about Samsung Austin Semiconductor, the Hutto and Taylor city councils and school boards, Williamson County Commissioners Court, new developments, wastewater and environmental issues, crime and the courts, elections, what’s going on with the Legislature and more.
One of the biggest differences between us and corporate media is the stories one reads in the Press are written by your friends and neighbors, people you see weekly at church, the grocery store and local games. We’re people you can pick up the phone and talk to, or visit in person, if you have a story idea or a complaint.
That’s why we’re Main Street media, not mainstream.
Leavitt was also right about traditional print media losing audience share in the digital age. That’s why at the Press we’re more than just a part of a newspaper company.
We’re also a communications and marketing firm embracing the 21st century by offering content on new platforms, from breaking news online to shows streamed via social media, updates and advertising broadcast on local TV screens in retail establishments, and using X, Instagram and Facebook to get out stories.
A print newspaper will always be our core product; after all, the Press has been around since 1914. At the same, the trust created over decades by the paper is the bedrock providing a solid foundation for our new ways of storytelling.
Our pledge, though, remains the same: To offer unbiased, impartial news that educates, informs and perhaps even entertains. From Main Street to beyond, we will always be there for our readers.
Edwards is the executive editor of Granite Media Partners Inc., owners of the Taylor Press. Reach him at thomas.edwards@granitemediapartners. com.
