If you are reading these words, you are a special person in the life of your 151-year-old community newspaper.
You are either a reader or an advertiser, or even better you are both.
Since 1874, The Oglethorpe Echo has continued to crank out weekly editions for one specific purpose: to keep you well informed.
As we like to say, “This newspaper is the only one in the world that loves Oglethorpe County.”
Since November 2021, when we embarked on the new era for The Echo, your support and enthusiasm continue to grow. And as a 501(c)(3) organization, your tax-deductible donations have helped us to build a rainy day fund for inevitable bumps in the road.
We believe a strong newspaper helps to build a strong community.
We also believe that you can help us strengthen our news coverage. We have a team of UGA student journalists scouring the community for stories and photos.
Oglethorpe County, geographically, is one of Georgia’s largest counties. We can’t be everywhere.
Here’s how you can help.
You can put on a “reporter’s cap” and tell us what you see and hear.
Here’s a good example:
Last Friday, we got a phone call. The voice on the line asked, “Want a photograph of some breaking news?”
Indeed, we did. Fifteen minutes later, we were in Crawford and snapping photos of an unusual visitor, a huge black bear that was hanging out in a pecan tree in a cow pasture.
It’s not every day that you’ll see black bear in our community, but we wouldn’t have gotten those photos without a reader putting on his reporter’s cap.
Certainly, there will be times when a photographer or reporter won’t be able to respond as quickly. But today, almost everyone has a cell phone that doubles as a camera.
You may not be a great photographer. But if you snap enough photos, one of them will be good.
Since the bear came and went, the furry visitor picked up a nickname — Elvis.
And if you see another Elvis, or anything else that is unusual or newsworthy in our community, that’ll be your chance to be a reporter, too.
Be ready.
Welcome summer interns
In January, we welcomed 22 Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication students to our news team. The members of Dr. Amanda Bright’s capstone class are wrapping up their semester of The Echo Experience.
About 175 students have seen their bylines and photos in The Oglethorpe Echo. We like to say, “These students are putting gold stars on their UGA diplomas.”
And now, we welcome five summer interns to the news team, under the direction of professor/editor Andy Johnston. Four of them — Lux Corrona, Anna Izquierdo, Zach Leggio and Jennifer Xia — will be familiar since they were also part of the spring class. Emma Greene rounds out the team, and in June, we’ll add Elizabeth Kim.
Having Corrona, Izquierdo, Leggio and Xia should make for a smooth transition to the summer.