We appreciate that our readers are concerned about the integrity of Middle Georgia’s government, business owners, and civic leaders. We share many of your concerns. However, we are not an investigative journalism paper.
Daily, we are bombarded by negative news. Reports of corruption, violence, hate, and ruin fill our social media news feeds, shout out of our televisions, and pop up on our computer screens. Mainstream newspapers print the worst of it, and share it liberally on Facebook.
Tearing down Middle Georgia is easy. You don’t have to look hard to find something about which to complain. There are well-established media outlets who find these things. We are not in competition with the Macon Telegraph or any other local news source. We also are not an investigative body.
Our purpose is to seek out all that is good in our community—and even now, there is much that is good. At our public schools, there are teachers who care deeply for their students’ success. On our street corners, there are small business owners who work tirelessly to bring quality products to their customers at prices that make “shopping local” a viable alternative. In our churches, volunteers spend their time helping the broken among us to become whole. In our parks, coaches nurture bodies, minds, and hearts.
All around Macon and Middle Georgia, there are positive stories that inspire hope for our community and our future. Macon Community News tells those stories.
This month, we welcome a new writer to our pages. Central High School Junior Nicole Hill is working towards earning her International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma, while also developing her skills as a student leader, dancer, scholar, and athlete.
In her first article, she writes about the robotics program in Bibb County schools. Despite all of the negative press about our public schools, the high school students on Team RoboBibb designed a robot that beat every other school—private and public—to win the Georgia robotics championship.
We are looking for new writers, and we welcome partnerships with schools, colleges, churches, and community organizations.
Many times, Macon is its own worst enemy, and the shortcomings in our community are magnified by our self-image. But with each issue of Macon Community News, we find more to celebrate and more reasons to excited about the future in Middle Georgia. If you are interested in supporting our mission, please join us.
Better yet, become a cheerleader for Middle Georgia. Find organizations to participate in. Volunteer at your public elementary school. Lead a neighborhood cleanup in your subdivision. Visit a new, locally-owned restaurant.
In the weeks that hurricanes assaulted our coasts, churches, locally-owned businesses, and individuals came together to provide everything from emergency shelters to free entertainment to families from near and far.
When hotels were filled to capacity, churches opened their gymnasiums and parking lots to evacuees from Florida. When Middle Georgians were without power for days on end, and schools in Macon had to be canceled, Tattnall Square Tennis Academy hosted a last minute tennis camp and Rigby’s invited children to skate for free. Water bottles were passed out, generators were shared, and we all came together.
That was the spirit of community we try to highlight. At Macon Community News, we believe that if we build it, they will come. Who are they? New businesses, new residents, new opportunities.
Perhaps some of the individuals doing good things in Macon have had difficult pasts, but we are not concerned with questioning motives. If someone is doing good here, now, in Middle Georgia, we will highlight that good.
It’s an ideal that all of Middle Georgia can aspire to: letting go of the negative that is in the past and looking for the positive that can shape our future.
Now more than ever, we need to write positive news – we need to read positive news. That is our mission at Macon Community News, and we appreciate your support.
You must be logged in to post a comment.