To the Editor:
I was raised in Cape May County and have spent the better part of my career as a working reporter in the Washington, D.C. area. I’ve been spending more time in Cape May County lately, and every time I visit, of course, I pick up a Herald.
I am writing to pass along my thanks and congratulations to your staff on a very good run of front page, hard-hitting stories, including your excellent coverage of local police misconduct cases.
When I look at the state of journalism today, unlike many, I’m actually very optimistic. But the future of journalism isn’t in the big newsrooms of Fox or CNN or the Washington Post or the New York Times. It lies squarely in newsrooms like yours.
The reason why our forefathers gave such latitude to the working press wasn’t for reporters to practice access journalism and collect followers on Twitter or to get publishing deals, nor was it for news organizations to chase profitability to appease shareholders or accumulate story clicks.
Instead, I believe the future of journalism lies in solid, caring, and, when necessary, dogged investigative reporting as practiced by local news organizations like the Herald.
Our forefathers would not recognize journalism as it is being practiced in much of Washington, D.C. today, but they would indeed recognize and appreciate your outstanding newspaper. Keep up the great work.
– JIM MCELHATTON
Alexandria, Va.
