In my twenties, I drove an hour one way and waitressed for over ten years dealing with the public on a daily basis. From my mid-twenties to midthirties, I ran a private school and taught multiple ages of students for another ten years. Then from my mid-thirties to forties, I went on to teach at four different children’s centers, even managing one facility where I was in charge of 12 teachers and over 110 children under the age of five, plus their after school program. I also in my forties worked in hospice and home health for ten years, with many of my jobs overlapping to make ends meet. However, as physically challenging as waitressing was, to as mentally challenging teaching was, to finally how emotionally challenging dealing with death daily was, NOTHING has been as challenging as being the local “paper lady.” In my fifties, it has been the most physically, mentally and emotionally challenging job I’ve ever had as each week I literally work around the clock with a skeleton crew to produce not one, but two award-winning weekly newspapers. Though some might think the newspaper business is “too old school” and not worthy of their time and social media efforts, others realize it is still the lifeline of local communities, as this paper lady does her best to cover their little corner of the world.

In the fast-paced world we live in today, some may think that social media is the go-to source for their information. However, many do not realize that most of their friends and the public don’t ever see their post. In fact the percentage of friends who actually see a user’s post due to all the algorithms varies dramatically. A 2013 study found that Facebook followers only saw 35% of their friends’ posts on average, even posts with engagements had only a 29% reach. In 2025, the percentage has even dropped more dramatically, with some platforms showing organic reach as low as 2.2% for business pages due to algorithm changes. So if you have 1500 friends or followers, your post may only be shown to as few as 33 peeps. This organic reach (the number of people who see your post for FREE) has been declining for years, which makes it harder for those posts to ever reach your social network. Yet every single day as the paper lady I find myself trying to explain to local businesses this crazy concept. Do they want possible patrons to know about their sale this week or do they want to advertise it in the local paper where at least 1700 physically get their hands on their ads? And yes they can even just subscribe digitally to their local newspaper and have that information in their own hands.

With all the fake news and rabbit holes you have to muddle through on social media, why not become a more informed citizen who supports their local paper and the paper lady who is held to a higher standard and understands the value of verifying the information for you to get the accurate facts of the story. Never underestimate the importance of the team of journalists who strive to uphold the integrity of their newspapers while reporting all the facts for the public to be better informed. Unless you have worked in the paper business, you have NO IDEA of the amount of time spent verifying a story.

This is why I am thankful for those who are part of my community and support their local paper. These patrons are the reason I am a better reporter and writer today. It’s through local stories and collective community involvement that our skeleton crew keeps coming home with the Sequoyah, the highest award any paper can receive in the state. So this is why I call my team, “The Fabulous Five” because every day five of us cover two papers for our county as we do our best to cover what’s going on in our little corner of the world. We are more than just coworkers, we are family as we work, eat, sleep and repeat to cover our local news and deliver it too.

So thank your local crew this week during National Newspaper Week. Give them an extra pat on the back by asking your friends to SUBSCRIBE to the local paper. We can’t do what we do without you! From our community leadership events on domestic violence to animal rescue and control, to our FOCUS magazine and GRIDIRON GUIDE, we depend on local advertisements to keep us going day after day, week after week, and year after year. I pray that the local newspaper remains the lifeline of the community and can always be found in your hometown. And I also pray that this paper lady continues to make you all proud.