Brian Bergstrom founded My Town WV in 2018. In his “Local News 2.0” series, he writes about the lessons he has learned, how journalism is evolving and where he sees community news going from here.
I am often asked, “What makes My Buckhannon different?”
The answer, of course, is complicated but also simple: “We’re hyper-local news.”
Somehow, in the last 10 or 20 or 30 years, news, as a popular concept, has come to mean ‘politics’ or ‘political opinion.’ If you watch the 24/7 TV networks, you know what I mean. They employ a lot of commentators. They don’t employ a lot of reporters.
And political commentary is fine. There’s a place for that in society and in journalism. It’s important, even.
But there is a lot more to journalism than politics. And that part – our part – is also important. In fact, it’s essential.
My Buckhannon reporters are out in your community, talking to your leaders, your teachers, your businesspeople, your neighbors. We sit through city council meetings, board of education meetings, county commission meetings. We preview events, highlight new businesses and create an ongoing record of life in a small town.
We’re reporters, not commentators. We’re not interested in the national political story of the day. We’re interested in bringing you information about the community where you live. The things that actually impact your day-to-day lives. News about local about government, about infrastructure, about roads, transportation, crime, poverty, economics, education.
The successes and failures, the triumphs and tragedies.
In a world where everything comes at you shorter, faster, and rife with misinformation, our writers put in the hard work to document the in-depth stories that you’re not going to get anywhere else. And we’re not part of some huge consolidated national conglomerate. We live in this community, work in this community, support this community.
That’s hyper-local news. That’s My Buckhannon.
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