Yours truly first began working in a local newsroom – in Reston, to be exact – while in high school during the Reagan era. When I get asked why I’ve stuck it out and continued lo these many decades, I invariably quip that it was “poor life choices.”
No doubt that is somewhat true. But it’s also true that those who have made local-news coverage a passion believe that our work has the most resonance within the community. What transpires at the local level impacts lives far more than what happens, say, in Richmond or (no matter its proximity) Washington.
It’s been a challenging time for the news biz in general, for local-news organizations without deep pockets specifically. But now not only I, but some other major names on the Northern Virginia news scene – like Dave Facinoli, Brian Trompeter and Deb Kolt – have teamed up with O’Rourke Media Group for the launch of a new print-and-online presence, the GazetteLeader.
We also have some talented staff on the production and advertising side, led by general manager Vicky Mashaw.
It’s a positive development, and I hope the communities we serve will bear with us during the inevitable teething pains. They will be worked through.
The strategy of O’Rourke Media Group? Provide communities it serves with strong news coverage (across multiple “platforms,” as the phrase goes) combined with robust advertising support. It sounds simple, perhaps, yet takes enormous elbow grease to successfully pull it off. But when done right, the entire community benefits.
We hope you’ll come along on this new journey. To remain strong, communities must have robust coverage from a healthy media. We hope to provide that, and to win your support (and trust) every day.
