By By Steve Swogetinsky
July 8, 2001
The name "Connections" means just that.
The Star wants to "connect" with its readers by focusing on the lives and interests of the people who live here and read our newspaper. My mission is to look for stories about people and write about the things that interest them.
Will we continue to cover the arts, cultural events and other societal elements that make Meridian, Lauderdale County, East Mississippi and West Alabama such a special place?
Yes! And this will continue to be the place to find the weddings, engagements and anniversaries, births, etc., too. Add in the human services beat to that mix. All have great stories that "connect" with you, the reader.
The way we do some things will change. The focus of the front page of "Connections" is going to be about people and the things they are doing; not so much about upcoming events. That information will be well covered on other pages of the newspaper.
We will continue to keep the public informed about the doings of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra, the Meridian Little Theater, the Meridian Museum of Art, and everything else that goes on in the arts. The basics of newspaper reporting: who, what, when, where and why will remain, and will continue to be important to our news product.
We will be covering this news from a different and fresh angle. That's where I come in. My job is to get out amongst the people and bring back good stories that will "connect" this news with you, the reader.
By The People
We received a tremendous response from our readers earlier this year in our "By The People" Profile 2001 edition. We said then that we wanted to continue to find ways to let the readers write for the paper, and "Connections" is a result of that.
As we cover different subjects, we will be inviting readers to contribute their thoughts and experiences as well. We want "By The People" to become a big part of "Connections."
It should be a lot of fun.
The plan
Here's the basic operating plan. "Connections," will run on Wednesdays and Sundays. These pages will be carry planned features, pictures and columns. While Sunday's page will be primarily features about people and what they are doing, Wednesday's theme for the cover page will include cooking, restaurants and entertainment.
Yes, that covers a lot of ground, and it means some changes. But the important thing is getting the news out in a timely manner for people to read and remember. We are going to do this well.
How to contact us
Here are some of the ways you can "Connect" with The Star:
Come by and see us. We're located at 814 22nd Ave. Ask for the newsroom;
Call us. The Star's main number is 693-1551. If you call is after business hours, my extension is 3217. I check my voice mail regularly during the day, so just leave a message and I'll get back to you;
E-mail me at sswogetinsky@themeridianstar.com.
Write to us at P.O. Box 1591, Meridian, MS., 39302.
Let us hear from you.