Artists appreciate an audience enjoying their work.
In the newspaper business, reporters are much like artists. They try to widen their audience to allow as many readers as possible to digest their stories.
This past weekend, people traveled from all over the country to the Union County area for the eclipse which occurred Monday. J-T staff articles about the solar phenomenon have been shared to about as big an audience as we know of.
Although many took their own photos to chronicle the event, the J-T staff went further and talked to as many people as possible to document the historical day. The entire newsroom was out covering the eclipse and talking to people from all over the United States and even as far away as Germany. Most of those who we ran into were surprised to see local journalists on the job but were glad that we took the time to capture their memories.
There were gatherings all over the area. At the Richwood Lake, we talked to people from West Virginia. At the Union County Fairgrounds and Glacier Ridge Park in Jerome Township, we ran into families from Germany. At the Pavilion in Marysville, we recorded people for the J-T podcast from Boston and Maryland who stayed in a local hotel the night before. At the Union County Airport in Marysville, there was a fly-in. And at the reservoir, there were people scattered all over, some even in a kayak.
Because of their creative story-telling abilities and excellent access to areas, our reporters were able to capture the storyline and craft their work. Those efforts, though, came with a sacrifice because while many were able to gather with their families or friends, the reporters were working to preserve the historical day so many could read about it and look at the photos in our keepsake edition. We applaud members of the J-T staff for their hard work. Through their efforts, our readers can reflect back and see what happened in our area on April 8, 2024.
Having a great dedicated staff is why we continue to be called a rare breed. With the reach of the J-T website and electronic edition, our eclipse coverage is now being disseminated all over the country. Marysville and Union County should be proud of being able to host the many people from nearby and afar for a safe and memorable mark in time.