May 25, 2006

From the Editor’s Desk

By Julie Davis Berry
Executive Editor Times Newspapers

We are very excited to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Almaden Times. In this day and age of newspaper buyouts and declining readership, it is satisfying to be able to deliver something on your doorstep that the Internet can’t: a local touch.

When I first came on board at the Almaden Times six years ago, I felt privileged to learn from one of the most creative wordsmiths in the business, Karl Laucher. At the time we were desperately understaffed and spread way too thin.

Fortunately, the readers in Almaden are highly educated—and yes they can be demanding—and they force us to never rest on our laurels and to constantly strive to improve our paper.

Over the years I’ve fought to increase the number of reporters covering stories because I believe that it is essential for the paper to have more than one voice. Working with talented reporters in the past like Debbie McDevitt, Kymberli Brady and Sheila Sanchez was essential to take the paper to the next level.

I am very grateful to have a tremendous staff of reporters currently onboard including Jeanne Lewis, Lorraine Gabbert, Daniel DeBolt, Candy Richter and Carol Rosen. Their thoughtful, well-researched articles help make us a paper to be reckoned with.

Our sports editor, Diego Abeloos, covers events like a pro with the able assistance of reporter Justin Petersen, and the beautiful photography of Jeff Frazee. Our readers are constantly thanking us for our in-depth sports coverage.

Thanks to our strong editorial team, we are now winning California Newspaper Publisher’s Association Awards.

Working on a community paper may be demanding, but it is never boring, and I’m grateful to have a lot of leeway from the publisher in steering the direction of our papers. We are truly the last independent newspaper in the valley—beholden to no one.

People expect a lot from their Almaden Times. Not only do they want solid information on politics, city issues and crime, but they also want to read fun, interesting features in the paper such as Street Talk, School Scene, Street Scene, Pet of the Month and Focus on Faith. These features have helped to make the Times a well-rounded paper and have earned the paper a lot of positive feedback.

Deciding how often to cover city politics and city issues versus local news is a delicate balancing act. We feel that a community newspaper should cover “hard news” because so much of it affects our readers on a day-to-day basis. It is essential to be involved and knowledgeable about the process. It is also extremely important to ferret out the truth when reporting a story and to look at an issue from all sides—not to promote an agenda. We think we do a very good job of offering objective coverage to our readers.

On the other hand, it is very important to cover the “smaller” stories like the little kid who raises money for tsunami relief—I mean how cool is that? Or to warn readers that there are cars being broken into around Quicksilver Park, so you’d better lock up your valuables. We can take the time to cover the smaller stories that the big paper in town doesn’t have the time or the inclination to cover.

It is very rewarding to shine a light on problems like pedicure infections, problem driving schools and crime in neighborhoods. And, it is also rewarding to spend time with political candidates and delve headfirst into the issues.

It is extremely rewarding to help promote local organizations such as the Almaden Valley Counseling Service, Hospice of the Valley, the Almaden Women’s Club, the Pat Tillman Foundation and the Tabard Theatre. These worthy organizations need and deserve our support.

This summer we are planning to add some interesting new local features. And, we will continue to cover the issues that our readers tell us they care about such as new businesses, politics, crime, education, sports, and faith, along with the occasional beauty queen and Eagle Scout—because that’s what our readers tell us they want from their local paper.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.