Editorial
The Forest Park Review has begun exploring new ways to gather news and to represent the community at large; this is, in part, to diversify our coverage, but also to involve the public in what we do.
It’s recently come to our attention that our coverage has been a bit narrowly focused. While it is our fundamental responsibility to cover the local governing bodies and to serve as a watchdog, we need to devote more space to some of the lighter things happening around town. And from here on out, we intend to – with your help.
We’re a small operation with limited resources, so we can only be in so many places over the course of one week. We spoke with several readers last week who were surprised to learn that the Review is only staffed by an editor and a photographer who splits his time among six other publications owned by parent company Wednesday Journal, Inc. Any supplemental content that appears in the paper is the work of a few freelancers.
That said, we’re proposing that citizens take a more active role in helping us produce a paper that better represents the diverse and multifaceted community that is Forest Park.
A few ideas come to mind. Because we can’t be everywhere, if we’re unable to cover an event in town, we encourage attendees to email us or send us photographs. We’ll gladly consider publishing the images, but please provide information and names (correctly spelled) for the caption.
Also, consider giving us a heads-up whenever there’s an event approaching; we’re not privy to everything that’s happening in town. If you think, say, a Little League game or a big event at a local school deserves coverage, or there’s a fundraiser you’d like to promote or think will make for good copy, let us know. We’ll consider writing about it, photographing it, or at the very least, publishing images and information that you submit.
On the latter point: We’re currently discussing creating a special section, in both print and on the Web, for photos submitted by the public, so stay tuned for further information. In the meantime, though, don’t hesitate to email those images.
We also want to establish and maintain an open line of communication with the community. This is Forest Park’s newspaper and public input – both positive and negative – is welcomed. Send us more letters, drop a line, or send an email. We want to hear from you.
We try to put out a quality product each week and we care about every story we publish, but we are, admittedly, human and imperfect; there is always room for improvement.
On our end, we’re planning on improving our website and we’re working to improve our approach to social media, as well.
Here’s to good things to come!
Editor Nick Moroni can be reached at 708-613-3325 or at nmoroni@wjinc.com. Call him with questions and/or comments, and email images to the above address. If sending pictures by mail, the Review’s address is 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302. Note that email is preferred.
