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Editorial
Papers provide a community forum
This month marks 2 3/4 years that the Campbell Reporter has been around.
During that time, we have become an important source of information about the city for those who live and work here. The city of Campbell's 2001 satisfaction survey found that more people in Campbell get their local news from The Reporter than from anywhere else.
We are proud to serve the community in this way, bringing to the readers' attention important governmental decisions, neighborhood controversies and the people who contribute to making Campbell what it is.
But the information we provide is only as good as those who read it and do something with it. And our reporting on the community is only as valuable as the feedback we get from it.
Our opinion page is the place where people in the community can provide their perspectives on topics we've covered or issues we've missed. Lately, readers haven't been saying much.
There are a variety of timely issues that affect people who live, work or attend school in Campbell. The city's redevelopment agency is working to make the downtown area more attractive to shoppers and restaurant-goers. Are these projects taking the city in the right direction, or not?
The Campbell Union School District board has approved a $74.9 million bond election for elementary and middle school campus improvements to go before voters on the March 2002 ballot. Why should it or should it not pass?
Traffic congestion and limited parking are seemingly timeless problems facing the city's downtown and neighborhoods. Are there any solutions to this constant source of frustration?
Sometimes we receive phone calls from alert readers who want to discuss a subject we've covered--or that they'd like to see us cover. We welcome calls like that, but we always encourage callers to write a letter to the editor to share their thoughts with others who may feel the same--or differently--about our coverage. It's easier, of course, to spout off to the editor, but by putting it in writing, the caller can play a role in initiating a community dialogue.
To submit a letter, please send it--preferably by email--or by regular mail or fax. Include your full name, phone number and street address. We need your contact information to confirm your identity and your interest in having the letter published. We publish your full name and your street name, but all other information is confidential.
Letters and opinion pieces will be edited for content as well as style, and we try to verify all information that we publish.
Our email address is campbellreporter@svcn.com. Our mailing address is 116 E. Campbell Ave., suite 6, Campbell, CA 95008. Our fax number is 408.364.2588. If you have any questions, please call 408.364.2640, ext. 200.
A community is only as good as those who participate in it, and community journalism holds that the better informed a community is, the better it can make decisions about the issues that affect it. A community newspaper is a source for news and also a forum for discussing that news. But we need people to stimulate and continue community discussions to make our paper, and our community, more involved.
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Campbell, California
