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The paper reflects the community

As the community newspaper, our role is to report the facts in a transparent and fair way when covering the news. That’s probably what you expect of us, but it’s far from all we do.

We also give a voice to the people in our Tri-Lakes community to speak out on issues that concern them. On our Opinion page every day, you will see a mix of viewpoints from people who submitted their writing for publication. We fact-check these to make sure you’re not being deceived, but we don’t solicit them or block people. What you see is what people submitted, as long as it met the minimal guidelines published on this page every day.

When we don’t have enough local content to fill the page, we fill it with syndicated columns and cartoons by insightful professionals.

This forum gives us an opportunity to discuss, be informed, enlightened, and sometimes motivates us to take action that results in a positive change.

We need to open ourselves to different viewpoints in hopes of learning things we didn’t know, without anger or name-calling. Sometimes it helps us to understand a different viewpoint, or it might reinforce beliefs we already held. The good thing is that we listen, learn and continue to discuss an issue, whether you agree or disagree. If you don’t like our editorials or the opinions of others on page 4, if you believe the forum as a whole veers too left or too right, there are several things you can do. You can contribute, writing a letter to the editor or Guest Commentary yourself to add your perspective to the mix. You can read it anyway and try a bit harder to tolerate and understand your neighbors who write in. Or you can feel free to just turn the page. There are lots of things to look at in the Enterprise, such as sports, classifieds, comics, columns, the calendar of Tri-Lakes events, arts and entertainment, and ads for special offers at local stores.

Whether you write in or not, we believe your opinion matters. We are all stakeholders in making this a better place to live. We respect and value the diversity of views among local residents. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go around.

It also takes the entire community to make a newspaper every day. Where do our reporters find out about news? Where do the ads come from? The obituaries and birth and graduation announcements? The letters to the editor? Who influences our editorials? All of you.

So please don’t get angry or frustrated, but instead express your opinion, send in your news items and get involved.

As a local newspaper, the Enterprise is a reflection of a healthy, spirited community, but not without issues that plague other communities, which we also report.

The challenges we face as a newspaper are the same challenges our community faces. The digital disruption has affected us all. Amazon is growing as the biggest retailer, hurting small stores, and Google is growing as the biggest media company, hurting newspapers and other media companies. As a business, we are also affected by increasing health insurance costs, minimum wages, newsprint costs and a decreasing workforce in the North Country.

But there is hope. Now, especially, people need to be engaged with their community through the newspaper, to feel free to voice their opinions without fear, to find out the facts that help us make sound decisions that will help enrich our quality of life.

As a newspaper that will turn 125 years old next year, we are proud to contribute to the economy by employing 35-plus people. We are happy to represent local people’s curiosity but hustling to find out what’s happening and be the best and most reliable source of verified information. We are proud to be the local watchdog of public interest, a local advocate through our editorials, and a sounding board of this community.

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting the freedom of the press, freedom of speech and our award-winning journalists, who are sometimes harassed for doing their jobs to seek the truth.

We see a bright future, with your help and support.

We hope some of you will read this and want to show your support by subscribing to the Enterprise, if you don’t already. Isn’t 69 cents a day worth the benefit of being engaged with the community?

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