Why I Take Local Journalism Seriosly

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

I was asked recently why I am so passionate about local journalism.

The simple answer is because I care about this community and believe all of our citizens deserve to know about their home county and towns, the good, the bad and the challenging.

It’s a time-honored tradition in Anderson County, dominated in the last century by Wilton Hall, who not only founded the Anderson Independent and Daily Mail, both of which he sold in 1973, but was the man responsible for the location of Hartwell Lake and the chief driving force behind the location of I-85 finding a path through the county.

He was aided by a distinguished and talented group of men and women, including L.S. “Slim” Hembree, my mentor in the business, who was editor for the Anderson Independent for more than 40 years. Slim and his team were part of the community they covered, and were sometimes unpopular with the municipal and county governments they covered when transparency in those organizations was lacking.

They worked long and often owl’s hours for minuscule pay because they loved what they did and knew it was crucial to a thriving community.

The Anderson Observer was founded in this tradition to be an advocate for all doing good in this community. Part of that role is to act as a watchdog who scrutinizes the actions of local governments, businesses and institutions to ensure transparency. I am convinced the current elected officials in this county and cities and towns are honest and are sincere in their efforts to serve the community. But in their efforts they can miss angles of issues, which is where the role of community journalism comes in.

Covering meetings and other activities of local officials keeps citizens informed about their leadership and how their tax dollars are being spent. It also can help local organizations avoid skipping in their efforts to make Anderson and its municipalities a better place to work and live. The Anderson Observer is the only publication covering these meetings.

This coverage also empowers citizens to better participate in their communities to make informed decisions and can create a shared sense of community and working together toward common goals.

This includes celebrating the achievements of local folks and groups that are working to make Anderson a better place, and there are a multitude.

It also helps combat misinformation, a critical role in today’s culture. Local, trusted journalism is more important than ever.

Does it make a difference? I have been in the business for more than 40 years and that can be hard to measure, but I like to think it can contribute to positive change.

In 2014, the Observer wrote several stories and editorials highlighting the sad fact that the majority of Anderson County Deputy salaries were so low they were eligible for food stamps. The County Council addressed the issue in the budget and have continued to increase those salaries to make them among the most competitive in the state.

In 2017, a story in the Anderson Observer concerning the Belk department store decision to end the practice nationwide of allowing Salvation Army bell ringers at their store entrances during the holidays was picked up by national publications and broadcast outlets, leading to an emergency weekend meeting in New York of the Belk board, and a reversal of the decision. The move that prevented a loss of more than $1 million to the Salvation Army that year.

These are just a couple of examples of the importance and potential power of local journalism. With limited resources, the Observer does what it can to praise and protect in equal measure and will continue to do so. Anderson is a news desert. Other than the Observer, the wonderful Electric City News which publishes every other Thursday, the Williamston Journal, and the photographs of Ken Ruinard, there is little attention given to Anderson.

This is why I am passionate about covering the community my family has been a part of for eight generations, and why I take my work seriously and will continue to do so.