National Newspaper Week remains important
Published 2:09 pm Tuesday, October 7, 2025
If these walls could talk …
Walking the halls here at 130 South Fifth Street, it’s the tucked-away corners of this venerable building that I love the most.
Like a lot of community newspapers, the bowels of the Herald-Whig are where the true history lies.
Sometimes strewn and other times neatly stacked in just about every nook and cranny, there is an assortment of outdated files, sepia-flavored photographs with curled edges and rugged office equipment that would make just about any history buff exclaim upon encountering them.
I have made it a point to run my fingers across an old shelf of hot-metal type and smell the ink of the press room, thinking of all the unique characters and talented folks that have worked at your hometown newspaper for the past century-plus.
This newspaper, its contents, and most importantly our people at your hometown newspaper are proud curators of the chronicled legacy of our communities.
It’s all part of the reason why we take a moment each October to celebrate our heritage – as well as our future – each year during National Newspaper Week.
Your newspaper, with its print and online formats, continues to play a critical role in documenting the daily activities of our community.
Despite modifications to the individual hierarchies of what’s important as consumers of news, we’re proud to remain a relevant and reliable source of local news.
In an age when the term “fake news” has been tossed around as haphazardly as old Tupperware, we’re proud that our readers consume our content with confidence that facts have been documented and triple checked.
Our staff will always be diligent at documenting the lives of local citizens from birth announcements to obituaries, the inner workings of city councils and school boards, athletics and academic programs, important news events and so much more.
I’ve said it often and the declaration remains true here in 2025 – I’ve never experienced the same day twice in this line of work.
Every day is an adventure.
My first byline appeared more than 25 years ago when I was bestowed with a freelance gig covering high school football for the Northwest Arkansas Times while in college.
I’ll never forget the excitement of rushing to the newspaper rack that Saturday morning and experiencing the magic of seeing the words I typed hours earlier now displayed right there before me in black and white.
The opportunity to share ideas, observations and thoughts with my friends and neighbors continues to be a thrill and an honor two decades later.
Creating an arrangement of words for public consumption and dissection requires a fairly robust level of intestinal fortitude.
But the times when you receive a compliment or two always results in a feeling of satisfaction that certainly plucks the old heartstrings.
Wanna know a secret? These walls at the Herald-Whig actually can talk.
Listen closely and you can hear echoing words of sincerity.
“Thank you, dear readers and advertisers.”
Because it is your story that we continue to tell.
We’re grateful for that fact and look forward to continuing to serve as an institution in this community for years to come.
JT Strasner is publisher of the Quincy Herald-Whig. Contact him at jt.strasner@whig.com.
