October Anniversaries

10/1	6 YRS	Cathy DiMaio	Delaware State News
10/1	3 YRS	Cynthia Eckert	Okeechobee News
10/2	1 YR	Patricia Trimnal	Okeechobee News
10/2	1 YR	Lisa Hoepfl	Salisbury Independent
10/4	6 YRS	Richard Sullivan	Delaware Printing
10/9	1 YR	Juan Barrera	Valley Printing
10/10	1 YR	Rosemary Wee	West Valley
10/11	38 YRS	Sheryle Sussman	Delaware State News
10/11	20 YRS	Kimberly Lewis	Delaware Printing
10/12	19 YRS	Christopher Williams	West Valley
10/12	4 YRS	Daniel Conde	Valley Printing
10/16	18 YRS	Thomas Bugbee	Delaware Printing
10/23	17 YRS	Armando Ramirez	Valley Printing
10/25	2 YRS	Michelle Moore	Delaware State News
10/30	1 YR	LaShelle Thompson	Delaware State News
10/31	16 YRS	Cynthia Eldred	Delaware State News
10/31	2 YRS	Clay Satterfield	Delaware Printing

Sun Cities editor honored by domestic violence agency

Laura Horsley, Eve’s Place executive director, left, presented Rusty Bradshaw with the agency’s Journalist of the Year award.

Rusty Bradshaw, editor of the Sun City and Sun City West Independents in Arizona, was named Journalist of the Year by Eve’s Place, a domestic violence advocacy agency, during its fundraising dinner Sept. 22.

This was the first time Eve’s Place recognized community individuals with special awards. Also honored at the dinner was Stephanie Smith, Peoria Police Department, as the Advocate of the Year, and Paradise Valley Police Chief Peter Wingert, who received a special award for his help to the agency.

Eve’s Place is headquartered in Sun City but serves domestic violence victims throughout the state, including the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona. The agency started more than a decade ago with a 10-bed shelter in Surprise. Bradshaw wrote one of the first stories about the agency while Surprise Independent editor and has continued to cover the agency’s growth through the years.

The award was especially humbling for Bradshaw who witnessed domestic violence first-hand while growing up.

“After watching my mother suffer from physical domestic abuse from a stepfather and hearing my daughter talk about being physically abused by a previous boyfriend, to have this agency recognize me in this way means I've done a good job of getting the message out about domestic violence,” Bradshaw said.

October is Women's Health Month

When thinking abotu women's health, or rather women's health risks, things like breast cancer and ovarian cancer may come to mind, but in fact, one of the most significant health risks plaguing women is heart disease.  Interested in learning more?  Click on the link below.

http://www.athighmark.com/ccToolkitDE/files/pdf/health-promotions/Oct2018WomenHealth_BCBSDE.pdf

40 Year Milestone with Independent

Business Systems Coordinator Kelsie Knight was surprised by the Corporate Services staff with a party celebrating her 40 years with Independent.

After opening her gifts, which included a gift card and a silver jewelry box with her initials, the team enjoyed cake.  Kelsie shared stories of her employment throughout the 40 years, which we all enjoyed hearing. 

Congratulations Kelsie on this milestone!

Praises come in about the Daily News-Sun

“Some of the things I like best about your paper: pages that say what someone said and then the state the facts; truth about local and state news, court rulings, etc.; current events, including programs/classes I might want to attend; last, but not least, in fact most favorite — comics. Thanks again for the informative and entertaining Daily News-Sun.” – Martha McBroom, Sun City

“This comes just to affirm your position as editor of the DNS. I’ve been a subscriber for more than 20 years and your newspaper has continued to improve over the years. I enjoy the format and feel satisfied that the paper brings attention to many of the top issues of the day.” – Mary Robertson, Sun City

submitted by Matt Loeschman, News Editor

ASU study: Readers have favorable impression local news

A recent survey by the News Co/Lab at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication revealed what most of us already know: Readers have a more favorable opinion of local news vs. national news.

The study, conducted along with Google Surveys, provides encouraging information for those us in the local news business. However, the survey also revealed two other interesting points worth paying attention to: 1.) Some readers still have a difficult time distinguishing news from opinion; and 2.) ‘fake’ feelings about news in general can rub off on local news.

The complete story and survey can be found here.

The study confirms that trust in local news is running much higher than national news. “Fake news,” according to the survey, is attributed more to national news coverage – most notably TV news networks – than with local TV stations or community newspapers.

Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed used negative terms to describe national news, while only 21 percent used negative terms to describe local news. The word “fake” was seldom used to describe local news.

Nearly one-third of those interviewed claimed they couldn’t distinguish between news and opinion – and that number was much higher when specifically related to national TV news networks. (Incidentally, that apparent lack of trust created by a reader’s inability to distinguish between news and opinion was one of the prevailing reasons behind our company’s move years ago to abandon staff-written editorials.)

But those of us in the local news business aren’t immune to the continual erosion of trust in news. According to the survey, the more respondents talked about news in general, the more they tended to have a negative image of all news providers – national or local.

Submitted by Bret McKeand, Arizona Senior Executive Editor

Lake Okeechobee News: We're stronger together

Newspaper merger planned for publications around Lake Okeechobee

By Katrina Elsken

INI Florida

In the pioneer days when new cities were founded all around Lake Okeechobee, newspapers were established to bring community members together.

In order to organize a new city, town or county, they needed a way to communicate with the people. The newspapers in Okeechobee, Clewiston, Moore Haven and Belle Glade/Pahokee were founded for that reason. For decades they have carried out that mission.

Times have changed, and the newspapers have changed with them, while holding true to their core mission to give community members the information they need to make decisions on issues that affect their families, homes and businesses. In addition to the print editions, the newspapers around Lake Okeechobee now have websites which are updated regularly throughout the week, reaching a broader audience than ever before and giving the readers more information than ever before. The publications also have social media pages that draw more readers to the websites, and allow others to share website information through their own use of social media.

As the Florida population grows, it is more important than ever for those who live and work around the big lake to stay informed, to work together to protect Lake Okeechobee as a precious natural resource, and to protect our way of life. While the future of Lake Okeechobee is important to all of South Florida, the communities around the lake have a special and personal interest in protecting the Big O. The lake is essential to fishing, tourism and agriculture, the mainstays of the local economy. For some, it provides the water we drink. For others, it is the source of water to irrigate crops. The lake is home to native fish and wildlife and provides critical habitat for endangered species.

Each of the communities around the lake has its own local traditions and history. While there are some good-natured rivalries (particularly among the high school sports teams), the small towns around the lake have much in common. We share a rural lifestyle and a pioneer spirit.

Starting Sept. 12, the communities around Lake Okeechobee will also share a newspaper. The Lake Okeechobee News will combine the circulation of the Okeechobee News Wednesday edition, The Sun (which serves South Bay, Belle Glade and Pahokee), The Clewiston News and the Glades County Democrat.

This larger around-the-lake publication will focus on issues important to all the Big Lake communities, while still including the local news important to each community.

The newspapers will continue to be newspapers of record for Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Hendry and Glades counties, meeting the Florida Statute requirements for the publication of legal advertising.

In addition to the print publication, we will maintain online web pages for Okeechobee, Clewiston, Glades County and the Glades, along with our social media pages, so that we can continue to provide news updates throughout the week.

Lake Okeechobee News

• The first around-the-lake edition will be Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018.

• Submissions from the communities are welcome and encouraged. We will maintain all of the current email addresses to make the change as easy as possible for current community contributors. If you already have an email address for the newspaper saved, you can continue to use that email address. Those who have not submitted news to the newspapers via email before are encouraged to send photos, press releases, community events items and letters to the editor to okeenews@newszap.com. All email submissions will receive a confirmation email from newspaper staff.

• The Lake Okeechobee News (a merger of The Sun, The Clewiston News, the Glades County Democrat and the Okeechobee News Wednesday edition) will be distributed weekly, on Wednesdays with a circulation of 10,000 in the towns around Lake Okeechobee — Okeechobee, Buckhead Ridge, Lakeport, Moore Haven,Clewiston, Belle Glade, Pahokee, South Bay and Canal Point.

• The Lake Okeechobee News Wednesday edition will be a newspaper of record in Okeechobee, Glades, Hendry and Palm Beach counties, following all regulations required by Florida Statute and the U.S. Postal Service. Since it is a merger of existing newspapers of publication, there will be no interruptions in legal advertisements.

• All current advertising contracts for each of the merged newspapers will be honored.

• Advertising deadline for the Wednesday edition is noon Monday. (This is the same deadline we previously used for the Thursday editions of The Clewiston News, the Glades County Democrat and The Sun.)

• If you are already working with an advertising consultant with the Okeechobee News, The Clewiston News, The Sun or the Glades County Democrat, you can continue to work with that consultant. If you are not already working with an ad consultant, call 863 763 3134 or email okeeadsales@ newszap.com to set up an appointment to discuss advertising options.

• The merged newspaper will be sold at all of the stores and newspaper racks that currently sell the Okeechobee News, the Glades County Democrat, The Clewiston News and The Sun.

• Current mail subscriptions to the newspapers will transfer to the Lake Okeechobee News. Subscribers will have the opportunity to opt out if they wish.