Opinion : A Writer...I Ain\'t

Today we ran a story, about the Betterton's, and immediately got a comment from one of our readers that asked, "Is this News, Opinion or an Advertisement?"

I laughed.

If the reader had looked carefully, they would have seen my name at the top, the answer is right there.

See, I can write in a pinch. But I've learned in the crash course of editoring, that when it comes to what people do, it's best to let people tell you in their words and don't mess with it!

I also laughed myself when I thought about the article , before we published it, because I thought the same thing. It is newsy, with my opinion and all the technical descriptions.

Maybe the story here is that, when it comes to this website, we aren't a traditional newspaper.

We're the community bulletin board, we have unlimited space unlike a newspaper, we have the ability to call attention to something happening immediately, but the best thing is that we have reporting with a heart.

Traditionally reporting at a newspaper, or most other forms of news, requires you run your story through a series of filters. First, is it going to upset the boss, second, is it going to upset the advertisers.

I like our format, because our boss, is a good boss.

Second, I feel like our advertisers are on a different page than traditional advertisers. See, the folks that advertise here, have big hearts. They understand the struggles each business faces when they operate in Vinton. If we run an article congratulating another business, and explaining what it does, I don't thing they get a bit envious that they are getting more attention than they are. I get the feeling that our community is there, and especially our businesses, rooting for each other to succeed, because they realize that when one business succeeds, they are all better for it.

So really, I don't worry about getting it "all" straight when writing, I believe that as long as our facts are right, the more heart we put into our stories, the better.

The other thing I believe, if you were hooked but the opening lines, and you read the story, my job is done, in whatever category it fit into! :)