Imagine for a moment there was no Hartwell Sun — that the newspaper didn’t exist and never had. Imagine there never had been a local newspaper to cover the community in Hartwell.
Rest assured, our town would be a very different place.
Who would inform the town about how their local government was spending its tax money? Who would show the community all the great things being done by local nonprofits, or add perspective to difficult issues, or provide a forum for local dialogue, or chronicle its history as it happens with verifiable facts?
Who would help local businesses spread their messages and reach local and regional customers through the power of advertising?
After 143 years in Hart County, that may be difficult to imagine. Thankfully, that is just a mind exercise and not a reality.
This week is National Newspaper Week, so we are taking a moment to remember that our place is right here with you, to be not just a member of this community, but to be a vehicle for it to thrive.
The First Amendment protects many important freedoms for Americans, but none is more precious than the freedom of the press in keeping governments honest.
“The only security of all is in a free press,” Thomas Jefferson wrote. “No government ought to be without censors, and, where the press is free, no one ever will.”
Jefferson knew then what is as true as ever today — without a local newspaper, everybody loses.
So on National Newspaper Week, we want to thank you, our community, for partnering with us to support Hart County and everything about it that is unique and special.
We are, as you know, also a business, which means we rely on your subscriptions and advertising to continue in our mission to cover everything under the sun in Hart County and to build a stronger more prosperous community by providing the information needed to make informed decisions. We must have the support of the community to continue this mission.
We are here for you Hart County. As long as you are here for us, our partnership will produce great things and we will truly all be better together.