January 6, 2005

EDITORIAL

125 years of community service

The year 2005 is a significant milestone for the Yellow Springs News. With this issue, the News enters its 125th year of community journalism and community service.

Through financial ups and downs, changes in ownership and editors, controversies, heartache and triumph, the News has been there, printing tens of thousands of pages documenting the life and times of Yellow Springs. After 125 years, the News continues to serve the community as a means of communication and education, a source of information, and, we hope, inspiration.

Over the years, the News has undergone many changes, but it has been guided by several fundamental ideals: broad coverage of the community of Yellow Springs and Miami Township; an independent and strong editorial voice; sensitive news coverage; the promotion of the paper as a vehicle for opinions and ideas; dedicated service to our advertisers and readers.

The paper was originally called the Yellow Springs Review, and the first issue was published on Oct. 9, 1880. Warren Anderson founded the paper, though his tenure lasted less than a year. Before the turn of the century, the Review changed hands a number times — and even changed its name, to the Weekly Citizen, then the Torch and, finally, back to the Review. In 1896, the Hustead News changed its name to the Yellow Springs News, and the Review and News were circulated side by side in the village and surrounding area. In May 1899, O. C. Wilke, the publisher of the News, bought out the owner of the Review and absorbed that publication. That’s how the Yellow Springs News traces its history back to 1880.

Compared to its early days, since O. C. Wilke consolidated his journal with the Review, this newspaper passed through the hands of far fewer owners. Except for two times, when the paper was controlled by Antioch College for five years in the 1920s and by the Bookplate Company, which today is The Antioch Company, in the 1940s, the News has not been owned by an outside organization. Since the post-World War II era, the News has been run by a succession of people, from Kieth Howard and Ken Champney, to Don Wallis, to Amy Harper, Doug Hinkley and Karen Gardner, to the current owners, Diane Chiddister and this editor. This approach to ownership has meant that the News continues to be operated by Yellow Springers, not a large corporation with offices elsewhere, something that’s becoming all too rare in this age of media consolidation.

The News is also more than a newspaper. It’s a business, a community organization, a place of work, a group of devoted people. Indeed, a newspaper is more than just the people whose names appear at the top of the masthead. The roster of those who have contributed to the News is enormous. Many people have passed through the paper’s offices and all have left a mark on this organization. They have also helped ensure that the News continues to be a dependable community resource that rolls off the press every week.

—Robert Mihalek