A waste of time...

Last week, while running errands for my grandmother, I ran into a person I will keep anonymous, other than the fact they are a Bamberg Citizen. I've learned a lot from this person over the time I've known them, and I had a lot of respect for this person until our most recent conversation.

The conversation started off as a pleasant one. They asked me how my family was doing, and then said, "So I've been reading your column." Any reporter or writer loves hearing those words, and dreads the moments before hearing the reader's opinion.

They said newspapers, including The Advertizer-Herald, were a waste of time and full of useless information. As these words slapped me in the face, it took all I had not to have a "throw-down" in the parking lot.

Once the rant was over, and I wished them a good day, I thought of a story I was told when I first began working at the paper. During the depression, this newspaper (then The Bamberg Herald) continued to publish news. Payments of chicken and eggs were accepted in return for subscriptions during those times. The now, Advertizer-Herald, has managed to make it through the recession and still reports and represents the community in various ways.

We cover many events dealing with athletics, emergencies, city and county meetings, graduation, politics and social events--just to mention a few. We attend events if it's raining or 105 degrees outside. We work long hours and there are times when we come in before daylight and leave when it's time to go to bed. There is not a day that goes by that one of us is not at the office doing something--be it writing, putting ads together, printing papers, inserting, or taking out the trash.

This newspaper has shared glory with the citizens of this county and supported them since the first paper came off the press, and will continue to uplift the community and go down in history as an important document for future generations to read and reference. This newspaper has given more than just a few people jobs as typesetters, advertising representatives, publishers, reporters, delivery persons, pressmen, etc. This newspaper plays many important parts in the community.

So, tell me how any of this is a waste of time? You've never had ink covered finger tips, or seen a press print your story, you've never shared the excitement with a citizen over a photo or a story of a family member, you've never smelled coffee brewing while doing edits, you've never delivered papers in the rain, you've never fought for a story, you've never had to fix a broken press, you've never sat through an executive session of a meeting waiting to ask one question, you've never watched someone's home burn to the ground, you've never received a phone call from an angry citizen, or raced to the scene of a missing child or a wreck. But just because you have never experienced what we at the paper have, I'll do you a favor and let you know, The Advertizer-Herald is anything but a waste of time.