Here at the Town of Paradise Valley Independent, we strive to be the community’s number one source of information. But, despite our best efforts, there will always be more news than we’re able to cover ourselves. While we have the “big” bases covered, what we’d really like to see more of are the personal stories that are big to you, our readers.
Community journalism is what I love best. My staff and I take a lot of pride in covering a wide variety of topics, everything from what’s going on at Town Hall to business openings and unique stories about the people who call TPV home. And while we try to tell as many of your stories as we can, there will be many, many more that go under our radar simply because we were not aware they took place. We see value in those stories, and we know our readers do, too.
Which is where you, the readers, come into play! We want to hear from more of you, and we want to hear from you more often. Did you receive a major recognition for volunteer work you’ve done over the years? Did one of your kids bring home a state championship trophy? Did your business just undergo a major remodel? Perhaps grandma just turned 100 or you managed to capture a picture of a magnificent sunset while out on a hike.
We’d love to share more of these stories with the rest of the community. And, hey, you don’t even need to be a good writer to get involved. A photo of your youngster celebrating a spelling bee victory and a few details in an email is all we need to help spread more good news about the people of TPV. If you’ve got a press release to share, that would be fine, too. Or, if you just want to let us know about something that might be newsworthy, we welcome any and all news tips as well.
In short, we want everyone to know that The Town of Paradise Valley Independent is the place to go for the big news for the community, as well as the big personal news for the folks who live here. We want you to be able to pop online every day, or flip through the pages of our print edition, and spot a nice reminder that your hometown is filled with people who have things they’re excited to celebrate, achievements they’re happy to share or just a nice photo of things happening right here in your own backyard.
“Refrigerator journalism” is another term we use to describe these types of submissions. They might not be major headlines that impact thousands of people, but they are the kind of items folks enjoy cutting out and putting on the refrigerator to remind them there’s plenty of good news still going on in the world.
So please, feel free to share your stories with us. If you have something to submit to The Town of Paradise Valley Independent, send an email to reporter MacKenzie Brower at mbrower@iniusa.org. Our print space is limited, so not every item will make it on the page, but we will do our best to make sure all of your good news, fun photos and community updates are available for everyone to see at yourvalley.net/paradise-valley-independent/.
Thank you for continuing to read your local paper and please take us up on this invitation to become a bigger part of it yourself.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
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