The coming months will be packed with observances and holidays, but we have one more we’d like you to add to your list: National Newspaper Week.

We’re observing National Newspaper Week 2020 next week, Oct. 4-10 – and not just us but newspapers across America and Canada, too.

This 80th annual National Newspaper Week is a recognition of the service of newspapers and their employees across North America, and we’re proud to be among their number. The annual celebration is sponsored by Newspaper Association Managers.

This year’s theme is “America Needs Journalists.” It’s a call to continue to value what journalists bring to our community, to reaffirm the need for trustworthy journalism in our modern world.

As News Media Alliance President and CEO David Chavern highlights in his editorial, “As we celebrate National Newspaper Week this year, we are reminded that without dedicated, hardworking journalists, many of the biggest stories of the past decade – at the global, national and local levels – would have gone untold.”

For the Franklin County Times, this is a great opportunity to focus on the value your local newspaper brings to our local communities. The news, sports and event coverage the Franklin County Times provides is content you won’t find anywhere else. Whether it’s the Golden Tigers’ undefeated streak in football or a county-wide celebration of history and heritage; whether it’s city council action or the formation of a new civic group; whether it’s a program for our youth or assistance available to our elderly – you will always find us right there in the middle of it. It’s why we’re here.

We, and our fellow newspaper reporters across the United States, are covering local government, local schools and local people like no one else.

There’s the way Chavern puts it – “Local journalists are the reason we have the information we need to make decisions about our lives and our leaders. Without their passionate dedication to news gathering and superb storytelling, we would understand so little of the world around us.”

We’re your newspaper, so feel free to reach out to us with your ideas or suggestions, this week or any week.

We hope you’ll take a moment to celebrate National Newspaper Week with us. If you don’t subscribe, now is a great time. If you don’t follow us on Facebook or Twitter, now is a great time to do that too. Keep up with what’s going on in Franklin County and continue to look to the Times to share the news of the day and the stories that need to be told.