Opinion

Carrie Classon’s, “Blue Yarn: A Memoir,” is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine stores. Learn more at CarrieClasson.

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing in recent years about the death of local newspapers, those bastions of democracy and chroniclers of community. While the loss of any newspaper hurts the people they serve, residents of rural areas and small towns are hit especially hard when a newspaper shuts down.

For things to stand and not topple over, there is an equilibrium and balance. Balance means “an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady,” according to the Oxford Dictionary.

Americans have more media options than ever. We are inundated with stories, memes, videos and promotions 24 hours a day. Most of us are on social media, which is built to provide an endless feed of content to keep us glued to our screens. And unfortunately, misinformation is prevalent and much of that content isn’t fact-checked, verified or professionally produced. The result is that we’re not always shown what we need to know, or the information that is most likely to impact our lives. That’s where local newspapers come in. Your local newspaper takes a different approach.

Knowledge is power, and after going to the 157th Annual Missouri Press Association (MPA) Convention, this journalist feels like Supergirl. While at the Saturday morning presentations, my boss Richmond News General Manager Sharon Donat and I learned in-depth about the Missouri Sunshine Law. Afterward, I accepted the William E. James Outstanding Young Journalist Award.

Working at a newspaper has a unique type of pressure. The pressure is not in the way you may think entirely. When someone thinks of “workplace pressure,” they tend to think your boss is nagging at you.

Crisp mornings follow the nights, and the wind sounds like Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs” song. Maybe times are challenging, but you know at the end of the day – all you need is a good laugh.

It was time to come back from Mexico. It wasn’t because of the weather.

Feeling “old” is a very personal experience, and growing old seems to be everyone’s worst nightmare. The media is constantly pushing for something anti-aging and how to feel young. As becoming an adult and growing up is a natural part of our life cycle – I tend to imagine “feeling young” is a state of mind.

This past weekend was filled with conversations surrounding how the world is transforming and how my husband and I want to raise our sons moving forward. In the perfect world, I would be a stay-at-home mom, raising my sons while working on a book for publication and running the farm.