As the owner and editor of Milford Times, it is important to me to provide Milford residents with up-to-date, thoroughly investigated and unbiased reports of what is happening in our town. In order to do this, we often must report on things that appear to be negative, are unpleasant or do not reflect the opinions of our reporters.
At Milford Times, we also encourage our staff to serve the community in any way they choose, whether that be volunteering, promoting a local non-profit or donating to causes they find important.
At a recent council meeting, this paper and I were personally attacked on record by a member of the community. This person chose to put on record that as a volunteer for Downtown Milford Inc., I should not write articles that are critical of the police department since that organization receives funding from the city.
I have been a volunteer for multiple organizations in Milford over my lifetime. In addition, husband was a volunteer for Carlisle Fire Company for decades. As a reporter for a previous paper and now one I launched to provide hyperlocal news to area residents, my list of volunteer activities has not changed.
For over ten years, I was a commissioner for the Milford Museum, a commission with an actual ordinance with the City of Milford. My full-time job, however, was as a reporter for a another paper. I am a board member for the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Milford and have been an active volunteer with them since 2011. I was a member and on that board while reporting for the previous paper. I am president of Downtown Milford Inc. I am a trustee for the Milford Historical Society. I was a reporter for the previous paper when I joined both of these boards as well. At no time was my volunteer service with any of these organizations called into question when I worked for the previous news outlet.
As a reporter, it is my job to report the news. Any action taken by council is news and I attend every council meeting. Since all meetings are available virtually, it is my practice to attend these meetings that way rather than travel into Milford to sit in chambers. Every person sitting in those council seats knows I am there and every one of them knows me personally.
Over the past month alone, I have given more than 300 volunteer hours to those three organizations trying to promote Milford. I have worked festivals, worked with downtown businesses and the community to make Milford a place where people want to work, live and play. I use our paper to promote the many events and activities multiple non-profits provide to citizens at no cost to those non-profits. Based on data from the Delaware Division of Small Business, in the last month alone, I have contributed $10,047 to the state economy and I challenge those who condemn my work with one organization to say they have done the same.
I have run advertising for free for small businesses who are struggling. In social media posts on my personal page, I have spoken highly of the city, whether it be council or the various departments, including the police department. But, when it comes to news, I must be unbiased, factual and trustworthy.
My recent article regarding the police salaries was based on my recorded transcript of the budget hearings, documents provided during those hearings and documents received through a Freedom of Information Act request. I can easily provide those documents to anyone who would like to see them. To be told that my article is “incorrect” or that I am “attacking the police department” with veiled threats that an organization I volunteer for should not be funded because I must write about the actions of council is disheartening to say the least. Public comment in front of council should not be used to attack someone personally and this is what was done at Monday’s meeting.
My point in writing this is not to seek sympathy. It is to let the residents of Milford know that Milford Times will continue to write on what matters to you. Our articles are and will always be thoroughly researched and the facts presented will be just that – facts. We are the ONLY hyperlocal news source in Milford now and focus solely on Milford and the surrounding area. State and national politics, other than those that directly affect Milford, have no place in our paper. Our articles may not be flattering to city council, its members or departments within the city, the school district or other public entities, but that is our job – to provide constituents with the facts so that they can draw their own conclusions.
We also make mistakes and, when one is discovered, we correct it as quickly as possible. We are human. The benefit to having an online-only media source is that a correction can be made quickly and easily. From this point forward, we will note on any social media posts that a correction has been made in an article when we find an error beyond normal punctuation and spelling.
Our goal in creating Milford Times is to tell the stories you want to hear. We welcome story ideas. We want YOUR opinions here in this section of our paper. We want to highlight what your non-profit is doing. Contact us with press releases or even a brief outline of your event. Send us your opinions about what is happening in Milford. Let us know what you want to see covered and we will do our best to accommodate. We would also love to advertise your business, getting your message out to local customers.
Contact us today at [email protected]. We want Milford Times to be where everyone in Milford goes to learn what is happening in our town. A town we love and promote daily.
Terry Rogers
Owner and Editor
Milford Times
