Our newspaper has an incredible staff.
I've worked at publications that weren't as lucky, so it is truly a privilege to be a part of an organization with more than 45 people working full time to create a newspaper seven days a week, 365 days a year. This undertaking is nothing short of a miracle.
It's also important to note that these people come to work every day in downtown Texarkana at 101 E. Broad St. The Gazette occupies the first and second floor of The Landmark Building. It's about a block and a half east from our former location at 310 E. Pine St. So it is astounds me that many people think we moved to Little Rock.
To be fair, we no longer print on site. We shuttered our press in January 2018, because presses thrive off commercial print, and there just wasn't enough business in that space to justify operating a press. Technology and digitization are wonderful things, but a byproduct of this development is less business for the print medium.
As such, we moved our printing operating to a sister paper in Little Rock. But the news, ads, design, circulation and operation of the Gazette are all done in downtown Texarkana by residents of the Twin Cities and the surrounding area. Additionally, we provide work for more than 70 folks who deliver the Gazette, Mid-Week Review, Her Magazine and our litany of special sections.
The reality is very few forms of media coexist in the same place they are produced. Books are not written where they are printed, albums are not recorded where uploaded and movies are not filmed where they are edited. We lived in a world where creation and manufacturing don't have to occupy the same physical space. And although that can create logistical challenges, it fosters economic boons freeing up opportunities for more creativity.
I've worked in the newspaper business for more than a decade and during that time there was only one year my newspaper and its press resided in the same location. And that press has since been decommissioned.
Every newspaper I've been associated with tends to have similar critiques from its readers: Not enough local news. Why isn't it free online. (I'm going to tackle this one next week.) And there is only bad news in the paper.
These are all common complaints not specific to Texarkana. But this is the first community I've been a part of that harbors a false narrative regarding locality.
My family and I moved here this year. We live in Texarkana, we eat at local restaurants and we shop at local stores. We are part of the fabric of this community - as are the more than 115 people who make the miracle of producing and delivering this daily newspaper a reality.