Hilliard Headlines: The power of local news
In December, we learned the sad news that ThisWeek Newspapers would be ceasing publication in January.
In many ways, this decision aligns with trends in communication. Fewer people are reading print newspapers or books, ad revenues have shifted more toward digital options and social-media outlets have become the “go-to” source for information for many people.
That is not to say this evolution is not painful. The Hilliard community has grown accustomed to getting news from ThisWeek for decades, and this is often content for which there is no other reliable source of news.
Other central Ohio media – The Columbus Dispatch and TV stations, for example – provide great news coverage, but don't have the capacity to provide the kind of community-level coverage that weekly suburban papers have provided.
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As a result of this closure, our residents will have fewer opportunities to see their children’s names on the sports pages, coverage of City Council and Hilliard School Board meetings, features about community events and stories about the opening of locally owned small businesses.
I am a former ThisWeek reporter myself. I worked for the Dublin version of ThisWeek’s papers back in the 1990s, and we took our mission of community journalism seriously. This change – which was perhaps inevitable – will leave a hole in our community.
The city of Hilliard is committed to filling part of the void left by the closure of these newspapers by proactively and transparently providing our community with news about the topics and issues residents and businesses care about.
To that end, we encourage you to follow the city of Hilliard on our various social-media accounts. You can find the city on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and there are additional accounts for news specific to the city of Hilliard Division of Police and our recreation and parks department. This is almost always the fastest way to learn about city news.
You also can sign up for our e-newsletter, which provides a weekly wrap-up of city of Hilliard news and upcoming meetings and events, at hilliardohio.gov/newsletter-signup/.
And three times a year, we send “Your Hilliard” magazine to every household that receives waste-collection services. Digital versions can be found on our website.
The city is transparent about what happens in our public meetings, as we want our community to be engaged and informed. City Council and planning-and-zoning meetings are always streamed live at hilliardohio.gov/meetings/, and detailed agenda packets are posted in advance of those meetings. We provide opportunities for public comment at these meetings.
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Our website hosts most of the information our residents need from your city government – and if you can’t find the info you need, you can always call City Hall or another department from the phone numbers posted at the bottom of the home page.
The closure of our community newspaper is a loss to Hilliard. The paper, its editors and reporter Kevin Corvo have been valuable partners to the city over the years while also serving the crucial mission of being the Fourth Estate ‒ that important part of the checks and balances for government.
We wish all the best to those at ThisWeek. You will be missed by those you have served.
David Ball is director of community relations for Hilliard.
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Hilliard Headlines: The power of local news
