Newspapers embrace those who inspire
If you think newspapers are all about bad news and conflict, you'd only be half right.
Sure, we explore the painful truths, the push me-pull you of government. We root out corruption and talk about war and pestilence and greed. But we also, whenever we can, hold high the examples of those who inspire us all to be better people.
We don't just think of do-gooders on Make A Difference Day or at Thanksgiving, although we pull out the stops to recognize numerous people who qualify as Someone To Be Thankful For throughout the nearly 100 towns in which we circulate and we cover many of the efforts in which people come together to make a difference.
We look for people who inspire every single day. On the front page. In Neighbor. In obituaries. In attaboys in our Saturday Soapbox.
One of a community newspaper's core goals is to build community. We do that by helping to bring people together, telling you what's going on and, of course, by providing examples of those who set the pace: the heroes all around us.
And it's clear those stories get you where you live. When we run them, the snide online commenters vanish. Letters to the editor praising these do-gooders come rolling in. People want to help - with their money or their time.
The residual effect buoys us who write the news nearly as much as the do-gooder stories themselves. Here are some recent examples:
• Mike Gannon, the Elgin High School teacher who pulled a student with a knife off fellow teacher Carolyn Gilbert earlier this year. Just last week he was notified he had won a Carnegie Medal, an award given out to just 23 people this year across the country for their heroism.
• Barbara Thomas learned the man renting her Sleepy Hollow home was sick and in dire need of a new kidney - so she gave him one of hers.
• Zach Hirsch, a senior and star athlete last year at St. Charles North High School, decided to befriend a freshman with Asperger's syndrome by eating lunch with him regularly and forging a strong friendship. Even though Zach is now away at college, he still keeps up, and Graham Jackson, now a sophomore, has been able to come out of his shell and has many friends.
• Julio Gomez inspired us that anyone can get healthy. Once more than 400 pounds, the Algonquin man went on "The Biggest Loser" TV show and lost a substantial amount of weight. After leaving the show, he kept on going and has started running competitively.
• Emory Duick, 71, of Des Plaines decided to get off his duff and walk Route 66 - all 2,448 miles of it - to prove guys like him can still do it and encourage retirees to stay active.
Whether helping others directly or inspiring them in some way, these people are all around you. And you'll find their stories in your Daily Herald.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=347569">Newspapers embrace those who inspire <span class="date">[12/31/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=347401">Web is important companion for print <span class="date">[12/30/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=347088">The gathering place for public debate <span class="date">[12/29/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=346869">The hard copies of life's memories <span class="date">[12/28/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=346782">The press in the age of the Internet <span class="date">[12/27/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>