Introduction

Here's an open letter that I wrote to the people of Mineral County Montana as a way of introducing myself. It appeared in this week's paper. Here's some more stuff to check out. (That's three links, btw.):

I am the new reporter here from Albany, N.Y. You may have seen my license plates. You may have also seen me traveling around Mineral County carrying a pretty expensive-looking camera. Don’t be confused. I’m not a photographer. I’m the one making this paper look worse than it once did.

I’m a reporter, a writer. I only take pictures because my editor and publisher make me. So I apologize for any blurriness that has ensued.

With that said, I do take my writing and reporting very seriously and hope that I can bring quality news and quality stories to the county. I graduated from Boston University’s College of Communication in May with a journalism degree and began my foray on Montana just seven short weeks ago.

On graduation day, I thought I was headed for an internship at a newspaper in a Boston suburb. Things change quickly when you are 22 years old. It’s important to be able to adapt in this ever-evolving industry.

My philosophy on community news is that it should be written in an engaging way. Let’s face it, a lot of the stuff that fills this paper is not earth-shattering or ground-breaking. That’s not to say I don’t also want to do some digging. But in many ways, we are all quite lucky to live in a place where carnivals, not carnage, are most likely to be the lead story in the paper. So regardless of what the news entails, I just want to engage the county in matters that people care about. I want to tell your stories.

Because I am interested in telling stories, I have to let you know that some pieces of information will not make it in between these columns. In a story about a cancer fundraiser, I really am not interested in who won every item at a silent auction unless I am trying to fill space. That’s an important part of the fundraiser, but not really a factor in the narrative arc of the event. I’m just trying to give you a sense of the way I approach town news. I don’t see myself as a stenographer. I’m sorry if you disagree.

Still, despite the fact that my name fills these pages, this is your newspaper. I am eager to hear what you think should appear in the Mineral Independent. If you think something is important, let me know. I can be reached at 822-0041 – yes, I live in Superior – or at awaite87@gmail.com. My editor and coworkers will likely think I am crazy for putting my direct contact information in here, but I think it is important.

I want a flood of phone calls. I want to have to reject five story ideas per week because I have too much else going on. This is a small but happening place. There are a lot of issues in Mineral County. Let me know about them so that I can fill our issues with yours.

Comments welcome,
Andrew