Though Athens has a small town feel, it has a lot of stories to offer.
Every week, Post reporters and editors pitch dozens of stories per staff so we are able to populate thepostathens.com every day and print our weekly tabloid on Thursdays. Some stories are planned out months in advance while many develop during a single day.
As journalists, we have the obligation to go out and explore what the City of Athens and Athens County have to offer. That means going to Athens City Council meetings to hear about the bypass tunnel proposed for Richland Avenue and venturing into tattoo parlors to learn about their policies against tattooing intoxicated people.
This week, Senior Writer Jeremy Hill explored the Athens economy — a story he has been reporting for quite some time. He went to Global Cooling Inc. in The Plains and to Third Sun Solar on West Union Street to learn more about the businesses and the employees who work there. The report details how employment in Athens goes beyond the university and Court Street.
Recently a Post staff member pitched a story about Halal food options in the area. The reporter Haley Richards found many students drive to Columbus to purchase halal-certified meat. She also spoke to a co-owner of Salaam, 21 W. Washington St. about the different options the eatery provides for students.
Reporters also strive to cover the annual events happening in town, such as the Rocky Horror Picture Show hosted by the Lost Flamingo Theatre Company. Each week in the weekly tabloid, a culture staff member aggregates events taking during the weekend, which gives readers another chance to try something new.
Every day that The Post publishes content, it strives to accurately depict what is happening in Athens at any given time and to share the information with readers. With the weekly tabloid, it gives us a chance to purposefully publish certain stories together to elaborate on certain problems or to highlight different themes.
This year, we already published an edition dedicated to President Duane Nellis and another about Homecoming festivities and traditions. Last year, we wrote about the elections, innovation in Athens and the opioid epidemic in southeast Ohio.
We want to continue telling the stories that matter to our audience, and we want to capture all the happenings in Athens. And as a reader and/or resident, it’s just as important to get to know Athens too.
– Elizabeth Backo is a senior studying journalism and the editor-in-chief of The Post. What are your favorite Homecoming traditions? Tell her at eb823313@ohio.edu or send her a tweet at @liz_backo.
