Otterblog

Every once in a while, it’s worth remembering all the good that the media and particularly newspapers do. If you listen to the Far Right, we are damaging national security and endangering Americans while we gloat under the protection of the First Amendment. The Far Left says we are kowtowing to the powers that be, afraid to stir the pot and ruffle feathers.

So, here’s a story about how journalism makes a difference in your community. We wrote a piece on Sunday on the Johnston family from Granite Quarry, a little town in Rowan County. Cancer—specifically colon cancer—runs in their family, and our story by Janice Gaston was about the incredibly hard decisions this family has made as they’ve come to learn of the disease in their genes. It’s very powerful and moving and courageous.

Since our story ran, several families with histories of cancer have gone to the hospital to get tested, to be informed of their risks, to know what they’re battling. I hope it turns out well for them. We shine all sorts of lights as journalists. Some expose wrongs or call officials to task for their actions. And some simply push people to seek out their own truths. They’re all equally worthy

Good reading: I’m not a huge fan of Time magazine, but their cover story this week by Michael Weisskopf is exceptional. He’s the Time correspondent who lost his hand in Iraq when he tossed an IED out of the Humvee he was riding in.