Celebrating 120 years of the West Orange Times & Observer: The weight of it all

I’ve been a news junkie for most of my life. As a kid, I liked to collect front pages of the Kansas City Star as it chronicled Operation: Desert Storm. I was fascinated with the photos, the design, the writing. I loved the idea of someone tasked with observing an event and sharing that with the rest of the world. I loved even more that that reporting then would serve as the permanent document of said event — preserved in history for generations to come.

That’s precisely why I chose to enter this profession. I wanted to be part of that charge. I wanted to connect people — through images and words — with their world. And I wanted to tell stories that wouldn’t otherwise be told.

Thus began my 25-year-long love affair with community news. I simply adored the charm of the local city council meeting or taking photos of a grandparents night at the elementary school down the road. I once drove by a house and noticed an alpaca in the backyard. That turned into a front-page feature. 

I also have sat with a mother after her daughter was found dead on the side of the road. I interviewed a child diagnosed with cancer. And on 9/11, I was with President George W. Bush in Sarasota the morning he learned of the World Trade Center attacks.

Through it all, the mission always was this: Tell the truth.

And now, that’s the marching order we give all our reporters. We remind them that at some point, you’ll probably have to interview the same person again. And if you misquoted them before, they might choose not to speak with you. And if that happens, it becomes impossible to do your job.

But sadly, somewhere along the way, journalism at large lost its way. For many mainstream news outlets, truth no longer seems to be the goal. Readers now have to find multiple reports just to cobble together some semblance of what actually happened. Even worse — as was the case with the stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail — some news outlets simply ignore stories that don’t align with their chosen narrative.

Perhaps it was the advent of social media that forced news outlets to covet speed over accuracy. Perhaps it was something more purposeful — activists disguising themselves as objective reporters. Perhaps some news organizations are merely puppets whose strings are being pulled by organizations cloaked in darkness.

No matter the cause, journalism has become a four-letter word and its practitioners popular punching bags.

This may surprise you, but here’s my reaction to all this: Good. (Cue Danny Glover meme.)

Let me explain.

This backlash reveals three things. One: The standard of objectivity and truth-telling we are supposed to uphold is necessary — and something our society truly needs. Translation: What we do is important. Two: When we fail at that standard, we see the effects in real-time. Yes, accountability is a good thing. Three: People still long for an accurate way to relate and understand the world around them. Indeed, we are necessary.

Today, I am blessed to be just one in a long line of journalists who have taken up the cause to chronicle the news of the day in West Orange’s only hyperlocal community newspaper. For 120 years, the community has had its story told within the pages of our publication, and I am humbled to be able to celebrate that legacy on this anniversary.

In the lobby at our office, we have dozens of hardbound archive books from years past. Some, unfortunately, are missing. But, it is always a fascinating trip to grab one of those books, flip it open and see what our colleagues were covering decades ago. Even more amazing — it was always done with the same level of care and love as we employ today.

Walking past those archives every day ensures we feel the weight of our legacy as we go into production for every edition. Sure, many of our pages are filled with “good news” — we love cute kids at school carnivals, high school sports, awesome neighbors doing incredible things.  But we also cover every city commission or town council meeting. We’re chronicling development decisions. We document businesses opening and closing. And when tragedy strikes our community, we’re there, too, to make sure it is reported.

And as we watch our society’s rifts grow deeper, it is our belief that the absence of truth is to blame. Without truth, there is no true north. There’s no common ground if everything is subjective.

So, on this day, I am treating the 120th anniversary of the West Orange Times & Observer as a sort of recommitment ceremony. Our staff always has — and always will be — committed to telling you the truth. We’re committed to ensuring our readers can rely on us as a compass. We’re committed to reporting with accuracy and care — and allowing you to form your own opinions. We’re committed to serving as the town square for discussion and debate. And we’re committed to recording West Orange’s history so those who celebrate our 240th anniversary can look back and know the truth.

And for you skeptics out there: Our only motive is to make our community a better place. We want all our West Orange businesses to succeed, and we want to help make that happen. We want to tell the stories of all the philanthropists doing incredible work in our area, and we’re here to help however we are able. We want to see our student-athletes playing in the NFL on Sundays. 

Yep, we’re big believers in that whole rising-tide-lifts-all-boats thing. 

We hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane in this special 120th anniversary edition. Here, we celebrate the history of our paper and its lasting impact on our community.

To our longtime readers and advertisers: Thank you for trusting us — both as your news source and as an integral part of your business growth strategy. We know 120 years of newspapers doesn’t just happen. It takes commitment — both from us and from you — and we truly appreciate the opportunity to tell West Orange’s story.