You may have noticed a change to our editorial page lineup. If you haven’t noticed, then let us be the first to introduce you to our new feature, “Get to Know.“
The idea came from our Delmar reporter, Marcy Velte, who remembered reading a similar feature in her hometown newspaper growing up. The idea is to let you see a different side of our community and business leaders by asking them non-work-related questions such as “What are you reading?” and “What is your dream vacation?” Their answers may lead you to discover a common thread with someone who lives life in the public eye.
“Get to Know” replaces our “Word on the Street” feature, which ran on this page for about a year. “Word on the Street” allowed citizens living, working or visiting Delmar, Guilderland and Colonie to voice their opinions in print on a variety of topics, ranging from teacher layoffs to their favorite Thanksgiving tradition. It was a throwback to a time when reporters could stop people on the street and engage them in a discussion about the news of the day.
However, we quickly learned the idea was more of a relic than a throwback. We had a hard time finding people willing to answer the question of the week, and our reporters frequently commented that the people they approached would either flatly refuse or be reluctant to have their pictures taken. There were times when it took our reporters more than two hours to find three people to participate.
We were never quite certain why people were so reluctant to participate in “Word on the Street.” There used to be a time when people were excited to answer a reporter’s question, but it became obvious to us that this was no longer the case.
Perhaps people have become more distrustful of the media, or perhaps it was the element of being approached by someone they regarded as a random stranger with a camera that led them to avoid our reporters.
It’s also possible that the way people communicate in a public forum has changed. It’s no secret that the number of letters to the editor we receive has dramatically decreased over the years, and other newspapers are experiencing the same. This once-lively forum has become an anemic representation of the community. Yet, if you go online, you will find comments on just about every news story, with some threads stretching across several pages. The difference? In a newspaper, your name is attached to your statement. Online, there is the comfort of anonymity. Perhaps that is where some of the reluctance to speak to a reporter comes from.
In any case, it made the task far more difficult than we envisioned when “Word on the Street” was created.
We still want to hear from you, and we encourage you to discuss the local news we are reporting on in a variety of forums. You can always drop us a line at P.O. Box 100, Delmar, NY, or at [email protected]. You can also comment online at spotlightnews.com and on our Facebook page.
In the meantime, we’re happy to introduce “Get to Know” to you. We know everyone has a favorite musician or a favorite local memory they want to share. “Get to Know” gives them a chance to do just that. And please feel free to let us know if you think there’s a particular public figure we should get to know.