Twice a week, the editorial staff of The Covington News meets to discuss the week’s stories and the upcoming print edition of the newspaper. Topics such as content and artwork are discussed.

Also included in these conversations is the weekly Our Thoughts editorial, the column you are now reading.

Editorials have been a staple in newspapers for generations. Each newspaper does them differently and there is no set style or standard on how they are handled in the newspaper profession.

The staff at The Covington News has long included an editorial each week on the opinion page. Since this newspaper’s founding in 1865, an editorial has been used several different ways. It has been used to urge the community to take action, to endorse a candidate in a local election, to shine light on a not-so-flattering local issue, or provide commentary on national, regional, or local issues affecting our community. 

While there have been many meaningful editorials in the past, let’s face it, that is not always the case.

There are some weeks that there is just not anything for The Covington News to comment on.

When the editorial staff finds itself spending more time wracking their brains for ideas for an editorial, it is time to take a step back and analyze. Do we need a weekly editorial? Do our readers need to hear about our opinions, or lack thereof?

We, at The Covington News, have decided that it is time to make adjustments. We are excited to introduce a series of changes that will be taking place in our newspaper in the coming weeks.

You may have already noticed our new Hometown Highlights section (page 2A) that features a brief look at what’s been happening around town this week.

The Our Thoughts section is not disappearing. Rest assured, there will still be plenty of community happenings that warrant our commentary; it will just be less frequent.

We will also be using this space to highlight some of Your Thoughts.

One way is our new Man on the Street section, asking local residents what they think about specific events or issues happening in our community.

We, as your community newspaper, will be listening closely to our readers and including your commentary in our paper.

Because, after all, our community and you, our neighbors, are the reason we do what we do.