Sometimes the best way to evolve the way we think about the news is to hear from people directly affected by it.”

Newspapers have inherited an interesting place in the modern age. Many scramble to find innovative ways to stay alive. Fundamentally, however, our mission remains the same as always: to offer straightforward, important local news.
But within these pages, and within the ever-changing landscape of the medium, there is space to provide more context to the news, and to evaluate the nuances that make some stories more complicated than others. In last week’s paper, Honesdale resident Emma Long wrote about losing her brother to the opioid epidemic—a timely perspective on the back of Gov. Tom Wolf’s controversial method to fight increasing overdose deaths in the state. In the TRR office following that edition, we all discussed what the purpose of a community paper is, and agreed that lifting up community voices, allowing space for people to learn from the experience of others, is a goal we have the ability to reach on top of that original, unchanged mission. In that vein, sometimes the best way to evolve the way we think about the news is to hear from people directly affected by it. The “My View” section of The River Reporter will now be open to first-person narratives from people in Sullivan, Wayne, Orange and Pike counties, who have experiences that relate to issues, locally, regionally or nationally. Along with Long, featured in this section thus far have been a local environmental advocate, who wrote about lobbying for a bipartisan emissions bill, as well as a newcomer to Honesdale, offering her perspective on the town debate over the star and cross on Irving Cliff. 
We’re inviting you to the pages, online and in print.
If you think you have a perspective that would fit in this space, please email copyeditor@riverreporter.com. We hold all columns here to the same editorial standards as the rest of the paper, and you would be working collaboratively with an editor to ready your narrative for publication. We really look forward to hearing from you.
   
Elizabeth Lepro
Managing Editor