Newspapers carry a wealth of information. At Valley News, we report on everything from happenings at area city halls to the good deeds being performed by those in the communities we cover. From a florist donating small handmade bouquets to people, just because she could, to scandals, like the one faced by Murrieta City Council in bypassing policy to appoint a new mayor earlier this year, if it’s news, you’ll read it in Valley News.
More recently, COVID-19 and the community’s reaction to it has overtaken our pages. Each snippet of information is being carefully vetted, then shared by our staff of reporters to ensure it is accurate, timely and important information readers need to be safe in today’s world.
In the editorial “Valley News is here for you” published in the March 20 edition of Valley News, publisher Julie Reeder said, “Our role as a newspaper is to gather and disseminate factual information to you, our readers, especially during a crisis.”
And that statement, folks, hits the nail on the head.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, there have been hundreds of thousands of articles posted on the internet, published in newspapers and magazines and even shared on social media. But where do you draw the line? How do you separate fact from fiction?
I can tell you from experience that it’s not easy, but you can start by referring to Valley News. We are carefully reviewing and vetting all our sources to bring you the most up to date and accurate information out there to keep you and your family safe. To date, we have monitored and vetted nearly a thousand websites and sources and will continue to do so until this situation is over.
It’s our job to cover these events, and it’s one we take seriously. I have to say, I can’t give accolades to the staff I am blessed with fast enough. This group of dedicated professionals stepped up their game, working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to make sure we were putting out the most accurate and timely information for our readers and that is something that really counts.
For more than 20 years now, Valley News has been leading the coverage of our area to provide information to the community so individuals and families can make smart, informed decisions – no matter what we are facing as a community.
We can’t do it alone, though.
As we face a plethora of ongoing and upcoming news events, including COVID-19, the coming wildfire season and a million other things that are important to our readers and the public in general, we have to look at the challenges that face us. One of the biggest challenges for us is subscriptions, something that we depend on as an independent news source. That is where you come in.
In her editorial, Reeder said that one way the community can help us “while we serve them” is to support us with subscriptions, and I couldn’t agree more.
Effective May 1, Valley News will be making the move to a subscription-based format for both our daily online and print newspapers.
For $69 a year or only $5.99 a month, you can support our effort to inform and embrace our community by partnering with Valley News. Your subscription helps to pay the salaries of those who work so tirelessly to bring the news to you.
Visit https://myvalleynews.com/subscribe and subscribe today, and in return, I promise to keep delivering the same high-quality breaking news and information you have come to expect from Valley News.
Kim Harris can be reached by email at valledyeditor@reedermedia.com.
