Sunday, Oct. 6, marks the start of the 84th annual National Newspaper Week, an annual promotion of the newspaper industry.

The events of the last several months, from the assassination attempt at former President Donald Trump’s rally in July, which claimed the life of one person, left two others seriously injured and saw Trump grazed by a bullet, to Trump’s return with a rally Saturday, Oct. 5, have focused the national media’s attention on our county.

They’ve also shown the importance of a local newspaper to tell the story of the community itself.

The Butler Eagle’s coverage of both the tragic events of July 13 and the aftermath has been focused on just that. In the months since then, our reporters have written about the impact on the people who were there, as well as the efforts to understand how the assassination attempt happened and what’s being done to improve security in the future.

While national media organizations have larger staffs and more resources to work with, they don’t have a connection or long-standing ties to community, something that local newspapers work hard to build and maintain. They also aren’t here day in and day out, meaning they can’t offer the same context.

Local newspapers like the Butler Eagle rely on the support of readers like you to continue their mission of covering the communities they’re part of. A week like National Newspaper Week is a chance to celebrate that work.

— JK