I am writing to thank you for being such a great paper that not only keeps us informed but also has heart. Mrs. Lydia Grimes and your staff went above and beyond the call of duty when you prined an obituary for Roland Alan Tew. The beautiful job of editing brought tears of joy to our entire family.
I know it must be rather disheartening at times, which is ironic, because I think journalists have the most heart of all.
You don’t go into journalism because you want to make a lot of money. You’ve got to love the job more than you love getting a paycheck or the thrill of seeing your byline in black and white. You can’t have an ego as many writers do.
But what makes The Brewton Standard journalists different from the rest is that despite accepting these facts, they do their jobs anyway because they truly believe in what they do. They believe that words and images can change the world. They don’t do what they do to get a gold star at the end of the day—they do it because they believe it is necessary.
Being a journalist isn’t easy, but it’s worth it to us, the public.
So this is a column of appreciation. Thank you to the journalists on the front lines, the reporters who ask the questions that no one else will, the photographers who take the pictures that no one else will take, the ones who stay up all night so that we have newspapers to read in the morning, every day—you make it worth it.
Eva Tew McInnis