As The Jackson Post publishes its fourth edition, there are a number of people who still have a few questions about the new local news outlet based in Jackson.
So here are some of the most frequently asked questions and their answers.
Q: What is The Jackson Post?
A: The Jackson Post is a weekly (for now) newspaper that is paired with the website, jacksonpost.news, that covers Jackson and Madison County and only those areas.
Q: Who owns The Post?
A: Magic Valley Publishing is a newspaper publishing company based in Camden that owns 14 other newspapers mostly in rural West Tennessee including Camden, Huntingdon, Henderson, Dresden, Alamo, Tiptonville, Covington, a few in Shelby County and a few in Middle Tennessee. The Post is MVP’s 15th publication.
Q: Who all works at The Post?
A: MVP has a few people throughout its organization in other towns who help out as needed including Daniel Richardson, Scott Whaley and Sabrina Bates. But the bulk of the work in Madison County is being done for now by Brandon Shields, who is the paper’s managing editor and has 14 years of experience in journalism in Jackson. MVP has hired another reporter to work in Jackson who will start in January. More about that person is coming next week.
Q: How do I subscribe to The Post?
A: You can subscribe online at https://jacksonpost.news/register/post-subscription-annual/. A subscription for $50 is good for 52 issues.
Q: How is The Post delivered?
A: For now while it’s a weekly, it will be delivered by the United States Postal Service with the plan of each week’s edition going out on Thursday.
One other question I get a lot is “What kind of paper is The Post?” That question is one that’s asked of every media outlet, because unfortunately in 2022, it seems a news outlet can’t expect to exist unless it leans one way or the other – Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, right wing or left wing.
The plan for The Post is to do what news media was meant to do in the industry’s very beginnings – report the news, hold leaders accountable, shine a light of public scrutiny on governmental proceedings and let the consumer decide for themselves how they feel about it instead of being told how they should feel about it.
Most everyone has a direction they lean politically if they pay attention to government at any level.
And while my or any other views by people connected with The Post will be published in our opinion section, that doesn’t mean our views will be the only one we publish.
Last week, we had differing views on a local issue going on in Jackson with one person in favor of Jackson Mayor Scott Conger’s initial plans for the property at the corner of Old Hickory Boulevard and Highland Avenue and another person who wasn’t as gung-ho about his plans for the convention center and arena.
I’d love for every week’s opinion page to look like that, but that’s also a lot to ask. So if you have an opinion about something local, feel free to send me a letter to the editor at my e-mail address listed at the bottom of this column. Because all opinions that run on this page will either be opinions about local issues or opinions about national issues written by local people.
We’ve gotten great support and feedback so far. I’d love for you to join the conversation.
Brandon Shields is the managing editor of The Jackson Post. Contact him at brandon@jacksonpost.news or follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram @editorbrandon.
This is so outstanding and needed in Jackson. Bernice Aday is my mother and a life long Jacksonian. she is 93 now and had become so disenchanted with the Jackson Sun for not do enough local news she cancelled after decades. I subscribed to this for her as a Christmas gift.. I have not lived there for 20 plus years but still spend four or five months a year there. I find this so refreshing. Congrats and I hope ya’ll have the best success, so needed there. Thanks again, David M Aday