I’ve loved news for as long as I can remember, even before I could articulate what “news” entailed. We used to watch TGIF on ABC Friday nights as a family in the ’90s, and I can recall begging to stay up past my bedtime as a 9-year-old to watch Barbara Walters and Hugh Downs on 20/20. I always idolized Walters, but also loved their last segment called “Give Me a Break” with John Stossel. It wasn’t that I dreamed of being a newscaster on air; I just loved learning and knowing what was happening around me in the world.
I would later tune in weekly to Nick News on Nickelodeon with Linda Ellerbee, which aired on Saturday mornings at 6 a.m. I would literally sleep in my sleeping bag in front of the TV to wake up early so I wouldn’t miss it. This was before streaming and the internet, when you had to watch TV shows live or you could never see them again. The Nick News logo introduced me to the five W’s of journalism: who, what, when, where and why. I was hooked.
In middle school, it occurred to me for the first time that journalism was an actual profession that you could study in college because my uncle chose that major. Really? I could be a reporter for a living? That’s like telling someone they can get paid to breathe.
Writing has always come naturally to me. I’m a bookworm and was that dorky kid in class who annoyed others because I asked too many questions. My teachers would ask, “Does anyone else have a question besides Stacy?”
I looked forward to going to the public library and spent my allowance money on books. If I didn’t need to eat, clothe myself and put a roof over our heads, I would do this job for free.
My husband Josh is a creative soul as well, but more on the art, painting and design side. When we really committed to buying this newspaper, he told me, “All I know about journalism I learned from my favorite movie, Citizen Kane.”
Now, there are many instances when I still can’t decipher whether he’s being serious or sarcastic. He was serious.
Josh and I always joked about moving home to buy The Landmark like other couples joke about retiring, moving to Florida and living on the beach. It was always just a “pie-in-the-sky” dream that we never imagined would come to fruition.
I suppose that’s why it was always The Landmark in our running joke. It’s where I got my start and even after moving across the country, I never completely stopped thinking of it as the place where I belonged in journalism. We had built a life in California with our son and careers we enjoyed. But it wasn’t home.
Living in Palm Springs, then Orange County and later Los Angeles was exciting. But only at first. There’s the beach, mountains, year-round perfect weather and amazing restaurants. It’s everything you could ever want right in front of your nose. But once you do all those things and the honeymoon period ends, you realize that you’re sick of the traffic and high prices, tired of living in a big city where no one knows your name.
At first, the plan was just to move back to Platte County to buy our first home we’d been saving for forever. But we bought the business instead and a home can come later. Our son is grown now and just started college. We’re empty nesters with a puppy and a new “baby,” this newspaper.
As promised last week, Josh and I created a reader survey. That link will be posted on our website and Landmark Facebook page at noon Thursday, Sept. 10. Readers will have until noon Sept. 24 to complete it. We not only want your feedback, but we also need it to decide what to prioritize in the future. What types of stories do you want to see more of and what are we not covering that we should be? The survey will only take a few minutes and you’ll get a sneak peek at some new ideas we’re exploring.
As an incentive, everyone who shares the reader survey Facebook post will be entered to win one of two prizes: a $50 gift card to Platte City’s newest hot spot, Doni’s Italian Restaurant on Main Street, or a one-year subscription to The Landmark.
There’s another item to watch for this month. The Landmark will begin its 162nd year of publication on Sept. 28. We plan to debut a new-subscriber special that week. If you don’t subscribe yet, but want the latest issue delivered to your home or business, it will be worth the wait.
My column will debut in this spot next week and we’ll cannonball straight into the deep end of Platte County politics. What does the new girl think about this political scene? I’ll tell you this: It’s like no other I’ve experienced.
