WARREN COUNTY, OH – Since the day after Christmas, I have been living in the Atlanta, Georgia area primarily to help my daughter and her husband with their first child and my first grandchild. While everything was going well for a healthy baby…thank God, the parents experienced a few situations where they needed help…kidney stones and losing their job and now a move back to Ohio at the end of this month. (Yes!!! On the way back to Ohio.)

During this time, my goal was to publish at least one article about Warren County each day while I was away. And I owe a big thank you to several people and organizations who helped keep WarrenCountyPost.com alive by actually writing articles or sending me videos to publish while I was here.

Organizations such as Warren County Park District, Dave Woehr of Friends of Warren County Park District, Scott Hall of Hall Around Town, Megan Becker of Warren County Development and Disabilities, Congressman Landsman's Office, State Representative Adam Mathews Office, Peggy Darragh-Jeromos Franklin City Schools , Sheila Baker of Carlisle Schools, Shelly Abrams of Warren County Community Services Feelin' Good, Deborah Kemper of Carlisle Council, columnist Guy Pasvogel, Game Day Communications and several others.

I also want to thank all of the school, city and town administrators who are sending out their agendas. I just didn't have time to report on it, especially while I was here. That brings me to…

Journalism is changing

Warren County does not have its own newspaper like surrounding counties…

• Montgomery County has the Dayton Daily News, which is printed six days a week (Sunday through Friday), and a digital newspaper is available daily.
• Hamilton County has the Cincinnati Enquirer delivered to your home six days a week, with a digital newspaper available daily.
• Butler County has The Journal-News, which continues to be available for home delivery seven days a week, with a digital newspaper available daily.
• Greene County has the Xenia Gazette, which is published twice a week in digital form.
• Clinton County prints the Wilmington News Journal two days per week (Wednesday and Saturday), with a digital edition also available.
• Clermont County has The Clermont Sun, a weekly newspaper that is also published digitally

While these media sources cover events in Warren County, Warren County readers do not know which newspaper will cover a Warren County story until the newspaper is published. This leaves Warren County residents with the task of subscribing to six different newspapers to find their local news.

What about social media?

Yes, there are several social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Whats Up, You Tube, Twitter (X), TikTok and some others. But social media also has its challenges…

• Not everyone uses social media – According to current estimates from backlinko.com, the number of active social media users in the US will be 246 million in 2023, meaning 72.5% of Americans use social media, while 27, 5% do not do this.
• Not everyone uses the same social media, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 5,733 U.S. adults conducted May 19 through September. In 2023, most Americans (68%) say they use Facebook. Additionally, about half of U.S. adults (47%) say they use Instagram. Pinterest users are at 35%, TikTok at 33%, Linkedln at 30%, closely followed by WhatsApp at 29%, Snapchat has a usage of 27%, while Twitter (X) and Reddit have a usage of 22%.
• Schools, cities, and communities can join multiple or multiple Facebook groups to find a simple answer to a question like: When is trick-or-treating? Or when or where are there registrations for small leagues?
• It's SOCIAL media, not news media… it's where people can share ideas, thoughts and opinions (sometimes without facts)…

While social media is important because it allows people freedom of speech, it is not a journalistic news source that follows the laws and ethics of journalism.

How to help WarrenCountyPost.com grow as a news source

In my opinion, for true journalism to survive, it needs volunteers…almost like missionaries for the cause of press freedom. So if you're interested in reporting on something happening locally in your area of ​​Warren County, Ohio – be it a special event, a local government decision, a school program – or have ideas for features here in Warren County or a… If you would like to publish a press release, please email me at TheWCPost@gmail.com.

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