The first news report on what turned out to be the assault on the Pakistani compound where Osama bin Laden was hiding apparently was a tweet from a guy complaining about all the helicopter noise late at night.
It wasn't until several hours later that he connected the gunfire and noise in his neighborhood to our Navy Seals taking out bin Laden.
That's the way it usually is: Stuff happens and we try to make sense of it as we go along.
Some are hailing his tweet as an example of how social media is becoming a major source on how news is disseminated in the 21st century, and it is. The instantaneous nature of his postings are great examples of how everyone is becoming a reporter of sorts.
It's a concept we are embracing here at The News. We are a community resource, the place to go to find out what's going on and what's of interest in Newton County.
We have a core group of news professionals, and we each do it all, reporting, writing, snapping photos, shooting video and posting stuff to Covnews.com throughout the day.
But we rely on you, too.
We need you to tell us about your child's accomplishment, and to send us a picture, too, so we can share it with other News consumers.
When storms struck Newborn recently, we did our part: We went out and talked to folks, shot photos and posted a story and images online within the hour of our reporter's return.
And then we got fantastic photos from y'all, and we posted them and ran some in the paper product.
One image from Matthew Ozburn was particularly chilling, showing the storm itself that he had taken from North Covington. Thanks, Matthew.
We didn't know it, but we also had a correspondent in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Mary Wright, a Covington native who is a rising junior at the University of Alabama. She shared her photos online and in print of the devastation there.
Nice job, Mary!
You can see their work and more online at Covnews.com.
We want you in The Covington News, too.
Send announcements and photos to news@covnews.com, or to ptravis@covnews.com. You can also send stuff to me at tgiddens@covnews.com.
Comments on our efforts are encouraged. You can post directly on stories at Covnews.com, and you can like stuff or share a link.
If you're not content to post a comment at the bottom of a story, write us a letter. Keep it short (350 words or less) and to the point. No personal attacks, religious diatribes or condemnations of businesses, please.
Call a reporter or send an email to share a news tip or request coverage You can call me at (678) 750-5011. Design desk and weekend editor Lee Sandow can be reached at (678) 750-5013 or lsandow@covnews.com; Sports Editor Josh Briggs can be reached at jbriggs@covnews.com, or at (678) 750-5012; government and business reporter Gabe Khouli can be contacted at gkhouli@covnews.com, or at (678) 750-5009; and crime and education reporter Amber Pittman may be reached at (678) 750-5000.
There's an easy link, Send Us Your News, at the top of our home page on Covnews.com. You'll also find links there on how to contact us, how to place an ad and how to subscribe.
Talk about Covington and the news on our Facebook page. We've changed it recently. Look for the page under Media/News/Publishing.
We're constantly evolving so we can serve you better.
You may have noticed more video postings on our website. We're working on bringing you even more.
We also have been working hard to keep Covnews.com updated regularly. Keeping checking back and you'll hopefully find a surprise or two throughout the day.
We'll also keep sending out breaking news notices when you need to know something now.
It's all about you, and we're here for you, however you want your news.
Tharon Giddens is editor of The Covington News. Reach him at (678) 750-5011 or at tgiddens@covnews.com.
