by Kylee Boyter, Jeff Raisor, and Liberty Best
Richfield Reaper Staff
At the Richfield Reaper, we have been serving our local Sevier, Wayne, and Piute counties for 136 years, as we were established in 1888. To put that into perspective we have been covering community news since before Utah was granted its statehood, which was January 4, 1896, when Utah became the 45th state of the United States.
We find ourselves reflecting upon the unique role that the Richfield Reaper has and had in our local community. The primary takeaway I see is the importance of journalism.
“For me, journalism is telling peoples stories the good, the bad, the uplifting, and the heart breaking,” said Jeff Raisor, contributing writer.
Journalism is described as the cornerstone of democracy as it allows citizens to be informed, drives cultural transformations, and holds those in power accountable. Sometimes, it is necessary for us to ask hard questions or cover heart breaking events, but we do so for the good of the community we serve.
“Giving information to keep people up to date on current and past events is also an important part of our job,” said Raisor. “It’s easy to get one side of the story as you hear and see it on social media and think that they are right and everyone else is wrong.”
Local newspapers are needed in our small communities to provide the facts and up to date information on local events.
“It’s important now more than ever,” said Liberty Best, editor of the Richfield Reaper. “When we have information coming from so many directions and even “clips” online of political views, there absolutely must be somewhere reliable people can go with unbiased opinions and full facts.”
“I believe that local newspapers are a necessary part of our communities. If we rely only on social media, the analytics don’t always show you the upcoming events, city council meetings, or public notices that may be happening,” said Kylee Boyter, reporter. “Let’s help one another by making our local newspapers the location for all community events.”
As we celebrate National Newspaper Week, October 6-12, we’d like to thank you, our readers, for being dedicated to our community, for having a desire to be informed, and for supporting us throughout the last 136 years. We need your support more than ever.
